A Witch in Wartwood

by Discet

Summary:

Marcy Wu has found her way to a new world and she couldn't be more excited. Things might not be going entirely to plan... separated from her friends, lost in a hostile bog full of monsters, and feared by the locals... BUT what's an adventure without a little adversity, right?

This is an AU where the calamity trio ended up in swapped starting locations in Amphibia, primarily following Marcy and her adapting to life in Wartwood.

Season 1 Finished

Chapter 1: A Spirit in the Forest

Summary:

Marcy finds herself alone in a new world and Sprig goes to investigate a threat to Wartwood to prove he's responsible.

Notes:

[Art by Jimmy Martinez]
[Author's Tumblr] [TV Tropes Page]

Marcy groaned as she pulled herself up from a mire of mud and tried to collect herself. Anne had opened the box and then… then…

She looked around the clearing. To her right were familiar plants, a cattail and dandelion, but they towered over twice her height. To her left were mushrooms, huge, but also glowing! Bright enough that even in the daytime they gave off a blue light. Above her, dragonflies the size of mastiffs buzzed past with a flutter of wings.

It had worked? The box really worked!?

She felt a buzz of excitement charge through her whole body. This changed everything! She wouldn’t have to move away! Well, technically she was still moving. But it was with her friends! They wouldn’t be separated! “Girls, are you seeing this!?” She whirled around to look for Anne and Sasha among the muck and overgrowth, but there was no sign of them. “Girls?” Only the noisy hum of the swamp answered her.

Okay, minor setback, but it was fine. She was in a new world! Full of mysteries to uncover and sights to behold! She would find her friends, and together they would go on adventures and be closer than ever! And who knows, maybe the three of them would be heroes in this world! This was going to be great for all of them… she just knew it.

Marcy took a steadying breath and struck a power pose, trying to fill herself with determination. She looked to the sky and declared, “I, Marcy Wu, will get out of this swamp, find my friends, and experience everything this world has to offer!”

Overhead, a dragonfly that had been hanging off a tree branch took flight, only to be quickly caught in the mandibles of a massive beetle, which was in turn snatched up in the beak of a truck-sized crow.

Marcy felt the blood drain from her face and she scrambled for cover beneath the treeline. Okay, giant dangerous wildlife, good to know. Also, wow it was hot and humid. She took off her sweatshirt and tied it around her neck like a cape. Her first order of business was to figure out what she had to work with. She pulled off her messenger bag and began to search through it.

In the main pocket, she had a mess of old papers and tests with A pluses stamped on top. They would make good kindling at least. Tucked in amongst the papers was a can of industrial strength hair spray that she had borrowed from Sasha for a cosplay. Most of the remaining space was taken up by her hard-bound journal, which was mostly empty aside from some doodles.

Her Nintwodo Shift and phone were holstered securely in the front pocket. She had a charger for each, but she suspected the odds of finding an outlet were minimal. Maybe she could build some kind of generator eventually? Short term, they were going to be bricks of plastic soon, so she switched them to low power mode. The pocket also housed enough pencil lead, mechanical pencils, and gel pens to fill her journal several times over. 

She let out a sigh. This wasn’t going to be easy. But then again, if it was easy, it wouldn’t be much of an adventure, right?

She stood up and looked around. Her second order of business was to find drinkable water. She picked a direction at random and started walking. She only made it a few steps before the panicked cry of some creature sounded from deep within the woods, followed by an eerie silence.

Marcy turned on her heel and walked the other way.

---

Sprig Plantar was an explorer in want of adventure, a hunter in search of prey – a hero in need of a quest! There was a whole world full of things he could be doing, but instead he was riding in a cart to Wartwood with his family. Not the most exciting thing, but all he had to do was be patient. Once he was older, the valley would be his oyster.

Bessie came to a stop just outside the Grub n’ Go and Hop Pop turned to face Sprig and Polly. “Alright kids, I’m gonna do a little shopping, you watch the cart.”

Yes! A chance! “You got it, Hop Pop! I’ll defend this cart with my liiiiiife!” he hollered, pounding on his chest.

“Sprig, I was talking to Polly.” Hop Pop gestured to the little pollywog.

“What? Polly’s a baby-”

“You're a baby!” Polly retorted.

“Polly’s got more responsibility in one flipper than you have in your entire body.”

Sprig scoffed. “Ridiculous! What makes you think I’m irresponsible?”

“Oh, geez, let me think,” Hop Pop counted on his fingers as he spoke. “You ruined breakfast with a bomb cherry, crashed Mrs. Croaker’s cowapiller through my bedroom wall, and left the lights on overnight, which attracted the lightning bugs. Again.”

“So yesterday was a bad day.” Sprig shrugged. He had only been trying to help. Bomb Cherries should have made the soup sweeter, and he had been trying to return the cowapiller to the corral and lost control.

The lights were his bad, though. That one he had just forgotten to do.

“Mhmm. Polly, keep an eye on Sprig, make sure he doesn’t leave the cart,” Hop Pop instructed. He turned towards the Grub and Go and headed in to collect their groceries for the week.

Sprig deflated, hanging off the side of the cart. “Wish there was a way to prove I wasn’t such a goof up.” He swatted at the dirt morosely.

From the edge of town square, a growing wail approached. One-Eyed Wally came barreling out of the thicket. “A spirit! There’s a spirit haunting the woods! I saw it, it nearly took me soul!”

Sprig perked up to watch as a crowd of townsfolk gathered around Wally.

Mayor Toadstool raised his voice over the murmur. “Now, calm down Wally. Just explain what happened.”

“It was horrible!” Wally picked up a stick and started drawing something Sprig couldn’t see. “It had wicked unblinking eyes, unnatural spindly legs, hair as black as a moonless night, and a book clasped in its claws!”

“A book?” Toadstool quirked up an eyebrow.

“A thing of evil, I have no doubt,” Wally said with authority. “In it she draws you from your head to your toe! If she had gotten my name, my soul would have been forfeit! Trapped in its pages forevermore!”

The crowd started to murmur with worry before Toadstool stepped forward. “Well, we can’t leave this spirit to fester in our backyard!” Toadie raised a prepared banner behind the mayor. “Because as Mayor of Wartwood, the safety of every citizen's soul is my top priority. We will expel this spirit for the good of all. Or at least drive it out towards Bog Bottom.”

The gathered citizens clapped appreciatively.

“Great plan!”

“How responsible!”

“Serves Bog Bottom right!”

An idea came to Sprig, genius in its simplicity. “Polly! I have a great idea!”

“Doubtful,” Polly deadpanned.

“I’m gonna get rid of that spirit for everyone in town! Then Hop Pop will be sure to think I’m responsible.”

Polly gaped at him. “Sprig, you don’t know the first thing about spirits. Besides, I’m not letting you leave this cart,” Polly said confidently, flexing one of her flippers. “Unless you think you can get by me?” she taunted.

“Pfft, how hard could it be? Spirits aren’t even alive.” Sprig fished a fist full of candy out from his pocket. “And I mean, are you sure you can’t look the other way?”

Polly hesitated for only a moment before holding out her flippers, “Deal! Now gimme!” Sprig dropped the candy into her maw and hopped out of the carriage, heading towards the overgrowth Wally had emerged from. Sprig heard a faint sisterly call of “Don’t die!” before he was bushwhacking through the forest.

Sprig knew the forests around Wartwood like the back of his hand; he knew when its beasts were out and about, where the best places to hide were, and which hollow stumps had the best bugs for an afternoon snack. So, it didn’t take long for Sprig to find something amiss.

He initially followed Wally’s tracks, but soon found another set that looked out of place. Wally’s two-toed footfalls intersected with strange, single-toed footprints that Sprig didn’t recognize. He followed the tracks a short way to a clearing, where he heard the scritching of a quill on parchment.

Sprig slid into place behind a tree and slowly pulled out his slingshot and a small smooth stone. He nocked the stone and drew back the rubber before peeking around the tree. Sprig wasn’t sure what he had expected, but it certainly wasn’t this.

In the clearing was a creature he’d never seen before. It did have dark hair and spindly limbs, but it didn’t seem to be haunting anything. Its clothes were strange, save for the mud and muck caked on it. It seemed to be observing and doodling a brown quick death shroom. Did mushrooms have souls to steal? How did you even get a mushroom's name?

While he considered this, a small group of butterflies briefly interrupted the creature’s doodling. One fluttered gently onto its shoulder; it looked up and giggled as a second one landed on its nose. It flipped to a new page, and from what Sprig could tell, started doodling the butterfly.

What threat had Wally seen? This thing was weird, but it hardly seemed dangerous.

As Sprig pondered this, the butterflies flew off and the spirit returned its attention to the mushroom. It stared contemplatively at it for a moment before plucking it from the ground – oh, frog, was it going to eat it?

Sprig adjusted his aim and loosed the rock to behead the mushroom. “Don’t eat that!” The creature's wide, owl-like eyes darted up and locked onto him. Sprig felt a chill go up his spine. As it approached, Sprig fumbled for a second stone and pulled back his slingshot. “Don’t come any closer, spirit!”

It stopped, book in hand. “Oh, uh, sure. Hi, so… why shouldn’t I eat that?” it asked; its voice was remarkably high pitch for a spirit from beyond.

“It’s deadly. Saliva turns it to acid.”

It grimaced, writing in its book and mumbling, “Turns… acid… don’t eat.” It leaned down and picked up the mushroom, slipping it into a shoulder bag. “Oh!” Its attention returned to Sprig as it thumbed to an earlier page in the book. “So, you can understand me, right?”

Sprig started to slowly circle around the spirit; that was probably safe to answer. “...Yes, I can understand you just fine.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” They started to scribble in their book “I tried talking to a little blue frog earlier, but he got pretty freaked out. I was worried I was hearing your language translated into my language, but you all were hearing gibberish.” Their eyes focused on their book and they started to write feverishly. “Of course, this does raise questions. Why do creatures in another world speak English? Or are neither of us speaking English and the music box trained my brain to translate all the languages I say and hear back and forth?” They looked up at Sprig again. “Olá! Você consegue me entender?”

“What?”

“Hm… nope, that's not it…” they flipped their weird quill around and started to rub at something on the page.

The spirit didn’t seem interested in Sprig. They were clearly interested in a lot of things, but not him. Was something wrong with his soul? Did it smell? Can souls smell?

From the distance, a large crashing sound sent bugs skittering in every direction. Which meant it was time to hide. Nothing big enough to make a noise like that was good news. Sprig started to flee, but stopped after a few steps and looked back to see the creature absorbed in writing, completely ignorant of what was coming.

“Maybe our worlds made contact a long time ago?” they muttered to themself. “But even then, linguistic drift should be immense…”

In the distance, Sprig could see a flash of shiny red carapace before it brought down an entire tree in its wake. “Hey, we gotta go!” he called, but it fell on deaf ears. They were too absorbed in that book. Sprig looked towards safety then back to the creature. He groaned in frustration and ran back. Once he was close enough, he launched his tongue, sticking it to the back of the book and ripping it out of their hands.

“Wha- hey!”

“Thith way!” Sprig insisted. He ran through the clearing as the sounds of the approaching beast grew louder and louder. He spotted an opening in a hollow log and ducked inside. The spirit leaned their head in, looking irate.

“What's the big id-” He pushed the book into their hands, pulled them down and out of sight, and covered their mouth with his hand.

They looked indignant for a moment, but froze in understanding as a thunderous crash announced the beast’s arrival in the clearing outside. They both waited in tense silence as the massive creature paused in the clearing. After a few moments it continued on its way.

Sprig let out a relieved breath, let go of the spirit, and slumped against the wall of the hollow log.

The creature looked at Sprig gratefully. “You saved me?”

Sprig blinked, considering the words. ”Yeah, I guess I did!” He smiled briefly, but then scowled. “You really have a death wish, don’t you? Almost ate a quick death shroom and then served yourself up for that monster out there.” Frog, I sound like Hop Pop.

The creature frowned, clutching their notebook to their chest. “I… can get a bit obsessed. Everything else just kind of fades away when I’m focused on something,” they said apologetically.

“And the mushroom?”

A growl rang out from the creature’s stomach and they sighed. “Desperation…”

Sprig let go of his judgment and smiled. “Well, I can help with that at least.” He felt around for a seam in the wood and then pulled it away, revealing a banquet of bugs. He picked a few of the best ones and offered them to the creature. They seemed reluctant for a moment, only taking a small bite at first. Then they brightened and started to scarf them down. At least they had good taste.

“Thank you,” they managed between a centipede and a beetle.

Sprig nodded and sat down next to them. He took a closer look at the creature. Bruises and scratches covered their arms and legs. “How have you survived up until now?”

They looked at him, still wide-eyed. “You mean here, in this strange world, far from my home?” they made a sweeping gesture to their surroundings.

“I guess? But also, like… at all?” Hop Pop had always told him that absent-mindedness in the wilderness led to an empty coffin.

“Oh… I had a friend who looked out for me. She’d always pull me out of danger when I’d wander into it…” They frowned to herself as she inspected a purpleback beetle. “We came here together… but we got separated.”

Sprig frowned. “You’re not actually a malevolent spirit, are you?”

“Uh, no? Normal girl.” She held a hand out to Sprig. “I’m Marcy Wu. Who are you, little hero?”

Sprig looked at the offered hand, then up to the girl. Even for some strange creature, she had a warm smile. He shook her hand. “Sprig Plantar.” There was no flash of lightning or ominous crackle of thunder; he didn’t feel soulless.

“Well, thanks for the meal, Sprig. Do you think you can show me the way to town? I feel like I’ve gotten close, but I haven’t been able to find it… there is one nearby, right?”

Suddenly, Sprig remembered why he had originally come out here, and what a dozen superstitious townsfolk were gearing up to do.

“Sprig Plantar! You come here this instant!”

What a dozen superstitious townsfolk and Hop Pop were gearing up to do.

“Wuh oh.”

---

Marcy watched warily as the little pink frog, Sprig, suddenly seemed to become nervous. The sound of an approaching group was probably good though, they could help!

“Okay, so here’s the thing Marcy. You know that blue frog you talked to before?”

“Yeah, he hit me with his accordian.”

“Right, so that was Wally, and he thought you were an evil spirit after his soul. That’s probably the angry mob he’s drummed up.”

“Oh.” So they were in trouble. Unfortunate.

“Right, so I’m gonna go out there and see if I can lead them away from you, alright? I’ll circle back when I can.” Marcy nodded and the boy jumped out, dragging  his foot to obscure Marcy’s tracks. Once done he called out, “Hop Pop! Hop Pop! I’m over here!”

Marcy repositioned herself in the log, shifting so she could look out of a knot hole. She peered out as a group of frog people - and toad people, if she wasn’t mistaken - gathered around Sprig. They bore pitchforks and torches like a stereotypical angry mob. An older-looking orange frog approached Sprig. Or at least she guessed he was older; he had sparse graying hair. Then again, a lot of the frogs didn’t seem to have any hair at all, so that might not mean anything. She was fairly confident, though, that the large tadpole on the orange frog's head was a baby.

Oh, they’re hugging now.

The older frog, Hop Pop she guessed, pulled Sprig into a bearhug. “Oh, thank frog, you’re safe. What were you thinking!?” He set Sprig down and gave him a judgemental frown. “Who knows what that spirit could have done if it got a hold of you!? You keep asking for responsibility, then pull something like this.” Sprig looked down in embarrassment.

A larger member of the mob, one of the toads, stepped forward to put a hand on the older frog's shoulder. “What’s done is done, Hopediah.” He then turned to Sprig, “So, did you see the spirit, boy?”

Marcy stopped her sketching, tensing up. Sprig glanced her way, looking guilty. “Uh, yeah actually-” Marcy stuffed her notebook into her bag and started to plan an escape route. “It went that way” Marcy looked up, but Sprig was pointing away from her, towards where they had met. Marcy smiled, letting out a slow breath of relief.

“Alright, you heard the boy, let’s-”

The toad’s words were cut short as a massive green mantis twice Marcy’s height crashed into the clearing, drawing gasps from the crowd. Marcy stared at the creature in fascination. She pulled her journal back out and started on a new page. Giant mantises were probably part of the food chain for the massive birds.

The large toad called out, “Quick, everyone, Mantis Formation!” The mob, not missing a beat, quickly stacked on top of one another into roughly the shape of a mantis.The creature stared for a few moments before retreating into the forest.

The villagers began to celebrate, but Marcy had the perspective to see what the green mantis had actually been intimidated by. A red mantis twice the size of the first landed in the clearing behind the frogs; the chitin on its back looked like platemail. It let out a screeching roar before knocking the frog tower down. Everyone scrambled for cover, pitchforks and torches abandoned in the face of the terrifying creature. Her eyes scanned for her little pink friend only to hear his voice above her.

“Quick, get away while everyone’s distracted!” Sprig insisted in a hushed whisper.

Okay, yeah, that sounds like a good plan.

“I’ll keep the beast occupied!”

Bad plan! “Sprig, wait!” Marcy tried to stop him, but the boy was already hopping away, slingshot drawn.

Things seemed to move in slow motion as she took stock of the world around her. In her mind's eye she could already see what was about to happen. Sprig hurt, or worse, in a dozen different ways.

Her eyes flashed to one of the torches that hadn’t been snuffed out on the damp swamp floor. Then she was moving, dashing out into the open, forcing her book back into her pack.

“Hey, tall n’ ugly!” Sprig called to the creature and drew back his slingshot.

Marcy’s nimbly swept up the torch from the ground and she sprinted headlong towards the mantis while digging blindly for the can of hairspray in her pack.

“Take this!” The sling stone barely phased the monster, only drawing its attention. The look on Sprig's face shifted into instant regret.

Marcy pulled the can out and dug her thumb under the lid to flick it off, then shook it violently as she skidded to a halt in front of the mantis.

Sprig let out a scream of terror as the mantis drew back its claw, preparing to sweep down at him.

Marcy positioned the torch just in front of the hairspray, then held down the trigger. The aerosol ignited, producing a jet of fire that bathed the creature’s head in flame. It screeched and swung blindly downwards, missing Sprig by a hair.'

“Aaaahhhhhhhh!” Marcy screamed, her common sense finally catching up to the rest of her mind. The mantis roared in anger as Marcy darted around its left side, holding down the button on the hairspray to maintain her improvised flamethrower. The armor plating on the mantis’ back seemed thicker, so she aimed for its legs and underbelly. Marcy stumbled over a loose stone and felt a claw sweep just over her head. She kept strafing around its side, aiming the nozzle at anything that wasn’t already burning.

As more and more of the creature caught fire, its attacks grew more frenzied. Most missed, but Marcy saw one about to bisect her and dove under it. The claw thunked hard against a small tree, almost cutting through it. Marcy tumbled across the dirt, repeatedly trying and failing to scramble back to her feet. The impact jostled the hairspray from her hand and it skittered out of reach. She looked up at the creature, wreathed in fire, as it reclaimed its claw and raised it, screeching in retribution. Just as it was about to plunge into Marcy, there was a loud creaking noise as the tree it had sliced fell and landed across its back. It tried to raise itself to its feet, but as the tree caught fire, it succumbed to the heat.  

Marcy locked eyes with the creature as its carapace started to crack and split under the growing heat. It glared at her with feral indignation before its eyes became unfocused.

After a moment she shakily pushed herself to her feet. Adrenaline caused her heart to hammer in her chest like a drum solo.. She turned back towards the scattered crowd of frog-folk.

Her raven dark hair shone with a halo from the growing pyre behind her. She towered over near everyone in the clearing, ragged breath shaking her entire body, and her eyes shone with supernatural green light. “I-is everyone al-”

The frogs erupted into screams of panic as they scrambled over each other to get away.

“Demon! The spirit controls fire!”

“It will burn us all!”

“Save yourselves! RUUUUUN!”

Before she could say anything else, they scattered away through the underbrush.

Marcy let out a sigh. Another amazing round of first contact diplomacy by Earth’s own Marcy Wu.

After a few moments the only ones left in the clearing were herself, Sprig, Hop Pop, and the little pink tadpole.

Hop Pop was trying to drag Sprig away. The little tadpole on his head looked up at Marcy with awe. Sprig just stared at her wide eyed.

“Sprig, come on! Sometimes screaming and running away is the smart thing to do!” Hop Pop advised.

“You just saved me…” Sprig said to Marcy, then turned to his father - grandfather? - and spoke again. “She just saved me!”

Hop Pop paused to reassess Marcy, then looked down to Sprig. “Sprig, I’m starting to think you didn’t tell us the whole truth earlier. What exactly happened?”

“Well, I wanted to show you I was responsible by catching the spirit and protecting the town. But when I tracked her down she was just this girl.” He gestured to Marcy, who waved awkwardly. “She wasn’t dangerous, just lost and hungry… and lonely. And ugly.”

Marcy frowned at that. She understood there were different standards of beauty and she was basically an alien, but still. Words hurt.

“So, when I heard the mob approaching… I told her to hide, and then when the mantis came I told her to run… but she didn’t. She stayed, and saved me.” Sprig gave Marcy an appreciative smile, which she returned. “But I’m sorry. I put you and Polly in danger. Maybe I am just a screw up.”

Hop Pop’s expression softened as he looked down at Sprig, and he took a knee, “I’m sorry if my words earlier pushed you to do this.” He put a hand on Sprig’s shoulder. “I just want you to think things through, so you don’t get hurt,” he said with a smile. “You have a good heart, and a good head when you decide to use the dang thing. And the way you protected this creature proves it.” Sprig jumped into a hug which Hop Pop returned.

Marcy smiled at the sight and rubbed at her arm, remembering times when Anne had gotten hurt or in trouble and her parents had comforted and scolded her in equal measure.

After a few moments Hop Pop pulled back, a stern expression on his face. “All that said, this is definitely a creature from beyond the veil and it’s played on your sympathies to steal your soul.”

“Like a fiddle!” the tadpole affirmed.

“Polly, how did Wally say it takes you?”

“You give it your name!” The little tadpole looked at Marcy with an intense expression of reverence. “My name is-”

Disgruntled, Hop Pop slapped a hand over Polly’s mouth. “Thank you.” He returned his attention to Sprig. “Did it ask for your name?”

“Well, I guess,” Sprig waffled.

“Did you give it your name?” Hop Pop asked

“I mean, strictly speaking… yes?”

Hop Pop let out a long suffering sigh, stood back up to his full height, and handed Polly off to Sprig. “Alright, don’t worry, I’ll handle this.” The elderly frog - she was pretty comfortable with that assessment now - marched over to her with his posture straight.

Marcy braced herself, unsure what to expect.

“Oh mighty spirit of souls and fire, I beseech thee,” he wailed, “please take pity on my grandson.” He dropped to his hands and knees, bowing to Marcy. “We have little in trade, but I will gladly offer my soul in exchange for his.”

Marcy clicked her knuckles together nervously. She looked at Sprig, who just shrugged. She looked back down at the prostrated frog and decided to be honest. “So, first: Hi, I’m Marcy. I understand if you don’t want to tell me your name. But I’m not an evil spirit? I also don’t have Sprig’s soul,” she clarified. “But I could really use a place to stay? At least for a couple of days?”

“That's all?” Hop Pop looked up at her suspiciously. “Hmm… aiming for the chance to collect the rest of our souls by living amongst us. Clever…” he mumbled to himself. “Alright ‘Marcy,’ you got a deal, a few days of rest for Sprig's soul.” He held out his hand. Marcy shook it on instinct, only belatedly realizing that it affirmed the frog's misunderstanding. “Alright, let's head back everyone. Ain’t the first time the Plantars had to house a demon and it won’t be the last.”

Marcy followed a few steps behind, not wanting to impose further. Sprig looked behind him, giving Marcy a smile. Polly, cradled in his arms, gestured between Marcy and herself, mouthing the words ‘We’ll talk later.’

Well, at least she wouldn’t be stuck in that dark dirty cave for another night.

---

Well… it wasn’t a cave, at least. The Plantar homestead, which she already had a thousand questions about, was ridiculously cute and homey. The basement, on the other hand, looked about as inviting as Hop Pop’s attitude. At least he gave her a pillow and bedroll.

“Alright, that cord there will turn on the mushrooms…” Hop Pop said from the safety of the stairs.

“Huh?” Marcy looked to the pull cord, it looked like one that came with a ceiling fan. Except it just led up to the ceiling. She pulled it and with a click a number of mushrooms growing from the walls started to let out a warm colorful light. “How does that even…” she looked at the pull cord. She pulled it a few more times, the mushroom’s light turning on and off each time.

Hop Pop watched her for a few moments before speaking up again. “Right, well, breakfast is at seven sharp,” he said, “if you even need to eat,” he muttered.

It took Marcy a few moments to process the words. “Oh, thank-” the trap door slammed shut, leaving her in the dark, “-you…” Marcy took a deep breath before clicking the light back on.

Even as her mind spun with questions about how the string connected to nothing could possibly control the mushrooms, her body sluggishly insisted it could wait. She sat down and rolled out her bedroll only to find a surprise waiting for her inside: a small plush bluebird with a piece of paper wrapped around its leg.

She unwrapped the paper and found a little note

I don’t think you’re evil, so here’s a friend for the night!

Below the note there was a little doodle of Sprig in place of a signature.

Marcy smiled; it was a small but welcome comfort. She threw her pillow onto her bed roll, turned the light off, and then immediately tripped in the dark. She carefully stood up and turned the light back on, then dragged her bed closer to the cord, turned it off, and laid down.

She stared up at the ceiling and took a deep breath before closing her eyes.

However, just as she was starting to drift off, her eyes shot open again, and she clicked on the light to look at the note again.

“Yeah, this is definitely written English!” She reached for her notebook and a pencil to make notes in her ‘language’ section.

While I’m at it, there’s the mystery of the different sizes of insects here. Some are the same size as they are on earth, and others are as big as megafauna! If they’re not breaking the square-cube law, then they must be compensating some other way. Is the world more oxygen-rich? More plant matter means more calories in the food chain. The whole valley seems lush, but is the whole world that way?

Then there’s the mushrooms. Are they normal lights that are just mushroom shaped? She poked one of them. No, that’s a real mushroom. Some kind of bio-electrical circuit? Everything around me looks pretty medieval. Some kind of schizo-tech?

Sleep could wait. She should put down her thoughts while they were fresh. It would only take a few minutes…

Notes:

9/16/23 UPDATE: Chapter Betaread by Sonar009

Alright, there we go for chapter 1! I am really excited for some of the upcoming chapters. It's gonna get increasingly distant from canon as we move along. There will be touchstones, but man I am really excited to get to some of the later stuff. I'm aiming for the tone to be fairly close to the show, so hopefully that's enjoyable for you all. So I have about 7000 words of just outline for this fic, with everything planned up to the 'season' finale. For those interested, I am excited to have you along for the ride.

The goal will be to release a chapter every Sunday or Monday. Maybe every other Sun/Mon for longer chapters.

If you are enjoyed please leave a Comment or Kudo. Knowing people are interested keeps motivation high.

Finally, I'd like to thank [5d-theater] on Tumblr. Their art very much inspired a lot of this. Here are their swap! Marcy designs, posted with their permission.

Chapter 2: Woods and Worries

Summary:

Marcy finds shelter with the Planters before her and Sprig go on a hike in the woods.

“Doesn’t even sleep on its back… unnatural…”

“Sleeping weird doesn’t make you evil, Hop Pop.”

“Can we wake her up yet?”

Marcy stirred from sleep and instinctively rolled her neck. She blinked awake and realized she had fallen asleep sitting up, curled over her journal. She looked to the side and saw the Plantar family staring intently at her. She quickly sat up and wiped a bit of drool away from her mouth, “Oh! Good morning, did I miss breakfast?” She quirked a smile, then looked down at the ground. Her bed roll had been surrounded by an inch high ring of rocksalt. “What’s this about?”

Hop Pop affected an overly friendly tone to his voice. “Well, good morning sleepy head. This here is just a, well let's call it a Plantar family tradition. A gift of salt to welcome you into our home. So… why don’t you pass through it and we’ll get you something to eat?”

Marcy looked at the salt; she knew what it would’ve meant on Earth. There were stories of salt being a symbol of purity; evil spirits supposedly couldn’t pass over it. Really, if she was an evil spirit then this was a pretty clever way to trap her. She looked over at Sprig who just gave her a nervous thumbs up. Maybe he had given her a chance to prove her innocence?

Marcy took a step out of the salt circle to little fanfare. She waved her hands in a ‘Tadaa!’ gesture. Both of the younger Plantars let out a sigh, one with relief and the other with disappointment. 

Hop Pop looked contemplative, then pulled a large book out from behind his back. “Well I’ll be, Sprig! Looks like you were right.” He tilted the book so they could all see. There was a charming illustration of a demonic spirit trapped in a circle of salt. “Looks like she’s just some odd creature afterall.”

Marcy held up a hand for a high five, which Sprig happily smacked with his tongue. She was a little taken aback, but didn’t judge, quietly shaking the slime off.

“What’s that bit at the end say?” Polly asked, pointing at the bottom of the page.

“Huh, looks like it continues to the next page. Ahem ‘however…’ ” he flipped the page, “ ‘some spirits are so powerful that no mortal precaution, salt or otherwise, could hope to hinder them. Put your affairs in order and make your peace.’” He looked up at a now nervous Marcy. Hop Pop sighed. “Too late to do anything now, in any case,” he decided, closing the book. 

Marcy smiled. “That’s the spirit!” Hop Pop squinted suspiciously up at her. “That was… a poor choice of words.”

“Hah…” Hop Pop shook his head and hopped towards the stairs. “Come on, I’ll cook us up some pancakes.”

Sprig plopped down next to Marcy. “Not much of a smooth talker, are you?”

“Not as such, no,” Marcy admitted. 

Polly was taking her time getting to the door. Slowly hopping up the basement stairs one at a time, seemingly at great effort. 

“Polly? Is something wrong?” Marcy asked.

Polly stopped at the top stair, letting out an exaggerated sigh, “Ah, well, I just have this heavy, pure, soul weighing me down. If only I could trade it to someone for unimaginable power,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes at Marcy.

Hop Pop popped back in and snatched up Polly, bucket and all. “No selling your soul until you’re older,” he intoned.

“Oh, come on, no fair! Sprig already lost his for nothing!” Polly protested as she was dragged away. 

Sprig and Marcy soon followed upstairs, through the living room and into the little kitchen. Marcy found it extremely cozy. A large glow shroom hung over a well loved dining table. Several enormous bulbs of garlic and a few bugs were suspended on hooks attached to the ceiling. A stone stove, shaped like a frog, was built into the corner counter. 

Marcy hesitated at the doorway, unsure if she was welcome, but Hop Pop pulled up a fourth chair for her from the wall. She smiled appreciatively and took a seat across from Sprig.

“So, Marcy, you don’t seem like you’re from around here, if you don’t mind me saying. You some kind of weird newt from up north?” he asked, whipping the batter up for breakfast.

“Human, actually! And to say that I’m not from around here is a bit of an understatement.” Marcy chuckled. “I’m not from this world at all, I’m from a place called Earth,” she said, trying to inject appropriate gravitas into the words. The Plantars looked surprised, though not as much as she was expecting.

“A whole ‘nother world? Well, that certainly explains a few things,” Hop Pop hummed. 

“You must be excited to be in another world!” Sprig said, envy in his voice. 

Marcy beamed at the kindred soul. “Oh, you know it! Just as soon as I meet up with my friends we’re gonna travel the lands and go on adventures, it’s gonna be great!”

“In a few months,” Hop Pop informed her bluntly, butter sizzling onto a skillet.

“Pardon?” Marcy asked.

“It’s gonna be a few months before you can really travel anywhere. I may not know how you got here, but you’re not getting out of Frog Valley until the snowpack melts come summer. Trying to cross the mountains otherwise is suicide.”

Marcy frowned. “Aw man, what? Boo…” She flopped onto the table and blew out a raspberry. If the locals hadn’t found a way through yet, what hope did she have?

Hop Pop turned around, looking contemplative, “Marcy, excuse me for asking, but if you’re not some spirit from time immemorial, how old are you exactly?” He blindly poured some batter into the pan.

Marcy tapped the table. “Uh, how many days are there in a year here?”

“...Three hundred and sixty.” Hop Pop informed her as if that should be obvious

Marcy did some quick mental math. “Roughly thirteen and a half?”

“Wow, you're only a few years older than Sprig? But you’re so tall!” Polly exclaimed. 

Marcy shrugged and smiled. “That’s just how humans are. I’m actually still growing, in a year or two I’ll be a foot-” they probably don’t use imperial units here, “-er, a head or two taller,” she amended.

“...How long were you out in that forest, Marcy?” Hop Pop asked.

“Oh, just a few days, I was actually sleeping in a little cave I found.” Marcy looked back to Hop Pop, who stared at her with visible concern. Marcy quickly added, “B-but don’t worry, I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I can find someplace to wait out the spring.”

Hop Pop’s eyes remained on Marcy for a moment longer, then he gave a shake of his head and returned to cooking. “Don’t worry about all that, we weren't using that basement for much anyhow. You can stay here for the time being.” He dumped the first pancake onto a plate and dished it out to Marcy before ladling out the next one.

Oh, his concern was for her. “Thank you…” Sprig smiled a toothy grin and slid her an amber bottle of syrup. As she uncorked it, the sweet, familiar smell of maple filled her nostrils. 

Marcy’s mind drifted back to a warm Sunday morning years ago. Sasha had just hosted their first sleepover and they had briefly met Sasha’s parents before hiding out in Sasha’s room for the evening. Sasha’s dad had seemed really intimidating to Marcy when she first met him; he was broad shouldered, didn’t smile, and didn’t say much of anything. The next morning he had made them all breakfast. Drawn in by the smell of bacon, Marcy had dragged a sleepy Anne to the kitchen. She remembered seeing him affectionately ruffle Sasha’s hair with one hand as he held a spatula in the other. 

---

Sprig was having a pretty good morning. He had managed to convince Hop Pop to test Marcy, and Sprig was right! She wasn’t a demon! Probably! Breakfast had gone well, all things considered, and he was pretty sure Hop Pop was coming around. Though the girl did seem lost in her head at the moment. 

“Copper for your thoughts, Marcy?” 

Marcy shook herself, “Sorry, kinda zoned out there. Hey, I was just thinking, could you show me around town? I want to-”

“Absolutely not.” Hop Pop interrupted. Marcy flinched back from the table. “Listen Marcy,” he said in a gentle tone, “you are a strange and frankly terrifying new thing in Wartwood, and the people here can be a little small-minded,” he explained. “I don’t think I have to tell you that you didn’t exactly make the best first impression.” Marcy grimaced but nodded in agreement. “So, we’ll take it slow. Once everyone sees that the three of us haven’t become soulless husks,” he gestured to Sprig, Polly, and himself, “we can ease them into accepting you.”

“I… guess that makes sense…” Marcy conceded reluctantly. 

“Good, that’s settled. Now, Polly…” he turned his attention to the tadpole, “...someone needs to be reminded of the dangers of wicked spirits!” He gathered up the little pink tadpole and started strolling out of the kitchen. 

“Wait! No!” Her little flippers reached desperately for Marcy. “I beseech you spirit! Give me the power to escape this!” she wailed. 

Sprig rolled his eyes and snickered softly at his sister's plight. When he looked back to Marcy, she still had a contemplative look on her face. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. Hop Pop can ramble, but his stories are hardly dangerous.”

Marcy looked back to him and forced a smile. “Sure, right! Won’t worry about it.” She pushed herself up from the table. “Well, seems like I’m gonna be here for a while. I’ll go… unpack my stuff a little…” her words trailed off and she retreated to the basement’s trapdoor. 

Sprig quietly gathered the plates and dumped them in a bin to wash later. He had to play this carefully. A friend had maybe fallen right into his lap and he didn’t want to scare her off. Maybe he needed a conversation starter? He cracked open Hop Pop’s pain pepper barrel and fished two out. He knocked on the open trapdoor and peeked his head in. “Hey Marcy! Want to feel pain unlike any you’ve felt before?” 

He found Marcy sitting on her bedroll. Her shoulder bag was open, but she wasn’t unpacking anything. Instead she was staring morosely at a little scrap of paper. He walked up behind her to get a better look. There was an extremely detailed illustration of Marcy, arm in arm with two other humans. One had very pale skin and wheat-colored hair, while the other was darker and had very curly brown hair. 

“Is that the friend you-”

“Ah!” 

“Wah!” 

“S-Sprig, hey, don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“I didn’t? I knocked and everything.” he said, gesturing to the door.

“Oh, did you? Sorry, just uh… lost in thought.” She looked back at the photo. 

“Is one of them the friend you came here with?” 

“Both of them came, actually.” She pointed to the friendly-looking one on the left. “That’s Anne, she’s the one who would keep me from getting hurt.” She shifted to point at the smirking one in the middle. “That’s Sasha, she would usually be the one getting us into trouble, but also all sorts of fun misadventures,” she said fondly.

“You’re worried about them, aren’t you?” he asked, taking a seat next to her on the bed roll. 

“What? No! I mean, well, sort of…” She frowned, “I know both of them can take care of themselves, but… but this world is really dangerous and…” She sighed, and there was a flicker of guilt in her eyes. “I just wish we were all together, you know? That way we would all be able to look out for one another.” She looked back at Sprig. “I mean, if you had friends who might be lost in a strange dangerous world, you would want to find them too, right?”

Sprig bit his lip and looked away. “Right! Right, if one of my numerous friends were in trouble, I would be super worried about them.” 

“Right?” She sighed again, not seeing through Sprig’s silk-smooth deception. She thumbed at the corner of the picture.

“That’s why you wanted to go to Wartwood? To see if anyone has seen them?” Marcy nodded. Sprig thought for a moment, and came up with an idea. “Well, why don’t we go out and look for them?”

“Huh? But Hop Pop said-”

“Hop Pop said you shouldn’t be seen in town.” Sprig smiled conspiratorially. “But the valley is a big place! If we can find any sign of your friends then I bet I can track em’ down”

“That’s… perfect! It doesn’t technically break any rules!” Marcy nodded. “Alright, let's go!” She slung her bag over her shoulders and headed up the stairs

They tiptoed across the living room. Upstairs, they could hear Hop Pop lecturing Polly about some foolish ancestor of the Plantars who had made a deal with the wrong spirit. 

Sprig followed her to the front door, but froze when he saw the padlock on the handle. “Ah, man, Hop Pop must have locked up…” he whispered. Sprig felt conflicted. The only way to open that lock is the key in Hop Pop’s jacket, but I can’t just steal it from him, can I? But I can’t give up! What if I ruin my chance to become friends with Marcy?

He looked at Marcy, who just looked confused. She strode forward, gripped the handle of the door, lock and all, and pulled it open. 

Sprig stared at the sight, dumbfounded. Marcy opened and closed the door, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, she gestured for them to go out. The two of them quietly slipped out the front door, and closed it behind them with a subdued clunk. 

Sprig looked up at Marcy, still bewildered. “How did you do that?”

“For a padlock to keep something closed, you need to loop it through a hasp- a latch,” she whispered.

“So, the lock that’s been keeping the house safe for my entire life-”

“Has been basically decorative, yeah.” 

Hm. Well, that was retroactively unnerving. “We should probably tell Hop Pop, huh?”

“Yeah… after we get back though, right?” Marcy asked

“Oh, definitely,” Sprig agreed. The two of them set off for the wilds of the valley. 

Exploring the valley with Marcy was a ton of fun! And extremely stressful! Marcy loved talking with Sprig about everything he knew about the Valley: the different environments, the creatures, the best bugs to eat… She was so interested, in fact, that she didn’t really watch where she was going. He had prevented her from walking into quicksand, sitting on a murderbee hive, and excavating a fire ant colony. It had been a very scary first five minutes.

A few hours had passed, and they were sitting at the border to the Toad Lands in the center of the valley. They were dining on some scavenged mushrooms, which to her credit, Marcy had mostly found and identified herself. After Sprig had taught her which ones were safe, she was quite adept at picking them out from the foliage. 

Humans seemed to have an amazing attention to detail and absolutely no situational awareness. What a weird species. Even now she was taking notes as she chewed on a red jellycap.

Once they’d finished their meal, Sprig looked up to the sky. “It’s getting pretty late. We should head back if we don’t want to be caught outside at night.” Marcy nodded, visibly disappointed, but started to pack up her things. “Hey, don’t worry. The valley’s a big place, and your friends could have been dropped well outside it,” he consoled. 

Marcy looked out towards the Toad Lands. The thick green grass gave way to dry weeds that choked out the roots of the trees, largely leaving them dead or dying. “Should we head out this way next time?”

“Oh, no no no.” Sprig shook his whole body in refusal. “Toad Tower is that way, and the area around it is home to the deadliest, most hostile wildlife in the valley. Going there should only be our last resort.” Marcy was clearly curious but nodded.

As they were ready to head on home a voice came drifting on the wind. 

“...Marcy!”

---

Marcy’s head whipped around at the faint noise. It had come from the Toad Lands. She strained her ears to make sure she wasn’t hearing things.

“Did you hear that?” Marcy asked Sprig. “It sounded like-”

“Sasha… Marcy… Help!”

“That’s Anne!” Marcy’s heart started to hammer in her chest, and she tried to break into a sprint. She was stopped by a little frog shaped anchor pulling at her sweatshirt-cape, briefly choking her.

“Wait, we can’t go in there!” Sprig insisted. Marcy whirled to argue, but Sprig pressed on. “There’s a beast out there! A monster that- it lures people in and-” Sprig tried to explain.

Marcy pursed her lips and looked back at the dying forest. The people here had thought she was some sort of evil spirit. What if they were wrong about this too? 

“Where are you? Help!” Anne’s voice called desperately.

“I-I’m sorry Sprig, Anne’s in danger, I can’t-” She took off through the forest, following the sound of Anne’s voice. The colors of the southern forest faded to muted browns and dead grays. “Anne? Anne! Over here!” Marcy called out over labored breaths. She really needed to work out more. Her legs were already sore from hiking all day. 

“Marcy?” She was getting closer!

As she traversed the foliage, her mind began to wander. Why was this part of the valley so barren? If the most dangerous beasts occupied it then shouldn’t there be more food to support the food chain for them? Why did the Toads occupy this area if it was so dangerous? Or was it just called Toad Tower cause in the past- 

Marcy stumbled across a tree root and fell, catching herself with her face inches away from a dying bush studded with thorns the size of her forearm. Shakily, she got up and continued running. She had to get out of her own head. Anne needed her. Focus. Focus. Focus. 

Marcy forced herself to filter out any thought that could distract her. Suddenly, she was able to hop over tripping hazards and duck out of the way of branches without even slowing down. She kept following Anne’s voice until she came to a clearing with a single large husk of a tree in the center. She looked around as her chest heaved with the effort of her headlong sprint through the brambles. Her eye caught something in the dirt, it looked like… laces! She rushed forward and found a yellow shoe utterly caked in dirt. It’s definitely Anne’s, but where…?  

“Marcy!”

Above her! Marcy followed the voice up the massive tree in the center of the clearing. Then her blood ran cold. 

A massive bird clung to the upper branches of the tree with huge, vicious-looking talons. Its body was covered with vibrant red feathers, with a rainbow of color on its wings. Its large, curved beak had a large chip missing from the right side. Enormous, bloodshot eyes glared down at Marcy, filled with bloodlust. It leaned down and tilted its head to the right, its beak parting as it spoke in a cruel mimicry of her best friend’s voice. “Marcy?”

Ah.

The creature let out a blood curdling “ Squawk!” as it hopped from the branch, descending on Marcy.

“Marcy! Move!” She felt the frog boy slam into her back, shoving her just out of the path of the descending talon. As the creature turned to her, Marcy scooped Sprig up and sprinted towards the tree. She slid into a hollow space under the roots. A moment later there was a scrape and a crash from the creature’s talons slamming against the tree behind her. 

Marcy and Sprig screamed and scrambled as far away from the creature's encroaching beak as they could while it tried to worm its way in. The opening was just barely too small to reach either of them. It thrashed its head wildly at the gap in the roots until the chip in its beak struck a gnarled outcropping of wood. It squawked in pain and retreated. 

Marcy let out a shaky breath as the bird outside paced back and forth. She looked down to where Sprig was wiping sweat from his brow. “You followed me?”

“Well, I tried,” Sprig admitted. “Those long legs can really carry you when you're not tripping over them, I actually had trouble keeping up.”

Marcy chuckled, but her face fell when she saw the passing talons as they stalked by their narrow window outside. “Well, you were right… it was all a trick.” Marcy sighed, curled up, and rested her forehead on her knees. “Ugh. Good one, Wu. You managed to make a friend in this world and now you’re gonna get them killed.” 

There was a pause for a few moments before Sprig quietly spoke up. “We’re friends?”

Marcy tilted her head to look at Sprig. The frog had his fingers interlaced, tapping his thumbs anxiously. Marcy started to feel self conscious. “I mean, I thought so?” She shrugged. “I mean, if you don’t feel the same-”

“No, no!” Sprig assured quickly. “I just…” Sprig looked down at his hands and started to twiddle his thumbs. “...You hadn’t said anything and I… don’t have the most experience with all this,” he admitted

“You don’t have friends in town?” Marcy asked, surprised. 

“...Kids around here don’t really ‘get’ me,” Sprig said, clearly embarrassed.

Marcy sat up and smiled sympathetically; she remembered that feeling. Well, it wasn’t like she was too proud to take a play out of Anne’s book, “So… Do you wanna be friends?”

Sprig looked at her in disbelief. “Yes?”

Marcy threw an arm around his shoulder. “Great, so do I!” she said, sharing a smile with the frog boy. 

The moment was ruined by the parrot finally getting impatient. It started clawing at the dirt, progressively widening the opening to its dinner. 

“Any chance you can set this thing on fire, too?” Sprig asked 

“No, that can is empty. Plus we’re inside a very dry tree, that… wouldn’t end well.”

“Alright. Alright… I have an idea!” Great! “When it eats me, you run as fast as you can.”

Marcy hooked a hand into the back of his collar to keep him from jumping into the literal jaws of death. “Okay, ‘preciate the enthusiasm, but friends don’t let friends heroically sacrifice themselves,” she scolded.

“No, look at what I got!” Sprig dug out two sauce drenched peppers covered in pocket lint. “These are Hop Pop’s pain peppers!” he said proudly. “One taste will make you wish you were dead! I’ll jump in, stuff it in its stomach, and then escape as it gags in pain.”

“Sprig, birds don’t feel pain from spiciness, you would just be seasoning yourself,” she explained. Technically she didn’t know if that was also true for birds in this world, but she wasn’t about to test it here and now.

“Oh?” Sprig asked, then a look of anxiety washed over him. “Oh. Haha.” He coughed. “Well, Marcy, it’s been a beautiful two minutes of friendship,” he lamented. 

“Not if I have anything to say about it…” Marcy picked up one of the peppers; just a whiff made her eyes water. She realized something and looked back at Sprig. “You know I meant the ‘two minutes’ part, right?”

Sprig nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good, I just didn’t-”

“No, I understand,” he assured her. “You have an idea?”

Marcy nodded. “Yeah, if only we had a slingshot…”

Sprig almost instantly produced a slingshot from the back of his pants. 

Marcy took it with an apologetic smile. “Thanks, I knew you had one, I meant a second one.”

This time he opened his coat, revealing a second slingshot holstered in a strap.

Marcy raised an eyebrow. “You carry two slingshots?”

Sprig raised one right back. “Awfully judgemental for someone with no slingshots.” 

Marcy smiled, leaned in, and quickly explained her plan to Sprig. He hissed through his teeth, but nodded in agreement. They each retreated to opposite corners in the back of the burrow, loaded a pepper into a slingshot, and drew them back to half strength.

“You sure you can do this Marcy?” Sprig asked.

Marcy smirked confidently. “I may be clumsy on my feet, but my hand eye coordination is second to none.”

They quieted as the creature stopped clawing at the ground with its talons; massive amounts of soft earth lay scattered outside. They both drew their slingshots back, ready to fire. “Wait for it…”

In a sudden burst of motion, the bird ducked its head in. The blood vessels in its massive eyes guided their aim as it screeched a terrifying wail.

“Now!” Both Marcy and Sprig fired, hitting the creature’s eyes with the peppers. It reared back in pain, almost uprooting the tree in the process. They rushed out through the creature's legs and sprinted for the edge of the clearing. 

Marcy glanced back as the bird rampaged in pain. It blindly slammed its body against the tree and clawed the earth in a panic. It craned its neck into the sky and let out a scream that mimicked a hundred victims' death rattles all at once.

Despite her best efforts to not think about it, some part of Marcy’s mind worried she recognized a familiar voice among the chorus.

They didn’t stop running until they were back under the rich foliage of the southern forest. “It worked!” Sprig announced, out of breath, “That… was the most exciting thing… that’s ever happened to me! Did you hear the way that thing screamed? That’s gonna haunt me for years!” He laughed manically. 

Marcy nodded as the rush of endorphins flooded her brain. As she caught her breath, she stood up. “Let’s head back. I’m sure Hop Pop’s getting worried…” Sprig nodded in agreement.

The two made their way through the forest, this time with far fewer incidents of Marcy nearly stumbling into an early grave. Thankfully, they didn’t see anyone along the roads, and no one was waiting for them on the front step. For a moment Marcy wondered if they had lucked out and their little excursion had gone unnoticed. However, when they walked in, they found Hop Pop waiting. He looked up from his book and set it aside dramatically. 

“H-hey Hop Pop.” Sprig waved and gave a nervous half smile. 

Hop Pop only gestured for them to take his place on the couch as he stood up. 

Marcy followed Sprig in, fidgeting anxiously with her hands. It didn’t help when Polly hopped down the stairs to overlook the scene with a vengeful glare. 

Hop Pop relocked the padlock and then rounded on them. “Now listen, I know that staying put might not be the most fun, but what you did today was dangerous!” he said, rubbing his forehead. “An angry mob is nothing to sneeze at.”

“We didn’t go to Wartwood,” Sprig promised. “We just hiked around the forest.”

Hop Pop frowned and gestured to the door. “I feel like locking the door should have communicated my meaning, Sprig,” he said, gesturing to the door. “Speaking of, how did you get out? Some foul magic?” He looked at Marcy.

“Oh, right!” Marcy got up, walked past Hop Pop, and pulled the door open. “This padlock doesn’t really attach to anything. You need something that will affix the door to the frame, like a latch or a hasp,” she explained before retreating to sit next to Sprig again.

Hop Pop stepped up to the door, looking flummoxed, and opened and closed it a few times. “Well, fine, that’s on me I suppose.” He turned back to the two of them. “Still, what could be so important that you needed to go out immediately?”

Marcy stared at her feet guiltily. She had dragged the old frog’s grandson into danger after he’d opened up his home to her, and she didn’t even have anything to show for it. 

The silence stretched on until Sprig spoke up. “She came here with two of her friends, but they got separated somehow. We were looking for them.” Hop Pop’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly. 

Hop Pop looked at Marcy sympathetically, then let out a sigh. “Well, fine. But don’t go wandering too far afield again. Wartwood is the biggest town in the valley, and all roads lead through it. They’ll wind up here eventually.” Marcy nodded. “Alright, I’ll go get dinner started. You two go wash up.”

“What!?” Polly demanded from the stairs, “I get a two hour lecture for trying to sell my soul, and these two get a slap on the wrist for sneaking out!?”

“Well it's not like they went into toad territory, Polly.” Hop Pop scooped up the pollywog and headed towards the kitchen. “Even Sprig wouldn’t be that reckless.”

Marcy and Sprig looked at each other and chuckled nervously before following them in. 

Dinner was okay, but a lot less tasty than pancakes. It was weird trying to avoid eating the broth so she could just eat the bugs instead. As the Plantars did their evening chores, Marcy retreated to the basement to properly unpack. She commandeered a cupboard to store her Shift, phone, and pajamas. Hopefully the elevation would keep them safe and dry.

The last thing she pulled out was Anne’s shoe. She had stuffed it into her bag while they were trapped under the roots of the tree. It was proof that Anne was in the Valley. That she was in trouble thanks to Marcy. “Please be safe…” she whispered to herself. She gently closed the cupboard door. 

---

Day 1

“Gutless coward!” a gruff voice called, nearly drowned out by the rain.

Anne ran through the downpour, leaving the weird stocky toad people to combat the terrifying monster bird.

Ow. Ow. Ow. OW!

She clutched at her side as she tried to run. Movies and games had not prepared her for how much it hurt to get stabbed. She kept running despite the pain, long hours of tennis drills allowing her to continue pumping her tired legs one after another. Her side burned as her eyes stung with repressed tears.

“Sasha! M-Marcy!?” she called out, desperate for anything familiar. Thickets of barbs and barren trees ominously passed by her, occasionally lit up by flashes of lightning. She heard something rustle in the thicket and her eyes darted to the side. In that moment of distraction, she failed to duck under a low hanging branch. She tried to recover, but she couldn’t find purchase on the slick mud beneath her feet. Her foot slid out from under her and she landed hard into the muck. 

A part of her brain begged her to stand, to move, to run. Those weird toad people weren’t that far behind, and who knew what else might be hiding in the woods? 

But she was so tired, and the rain was so cold, and everything hurt.  

She tried to push herself back to her feet, but another spasm of pain from her side sent her sprawling back into the mud. As it soaked into her clothes, she finally let out a choked sob. Her eyes filled with tears that were quickly washed away by the rain. 

She was supposed to be home. She was supposed to be with her friends and family. She was supposed to be hanging out at her house drinking way too much soda, gossiping with Sasha about stupid school drama. Her dad would be hooking up one of his old consoles for party games that Marcy would inevitably crush them at. They’d eat a cake her mom made from scratch. Everyone would wish her a happy birthday, and there would be hugs, and she would be warm. 

Why am I here? Why is this happening?

She forced herself to take a few steadying breaths as she looked at the clouds above. Her vision blurred around the edges as she sunk further into the mud. T-this must be a nightmare, right? Maybe if I just sleep, this’ll all disappear. I’ll just wake up in my room, safe and warm.  

As her vision began to fade, she saw a tall, thin silhouette looming over her. Some part of her mind told her to get up, but the urgency was gone. She was so tired.

“Now, vhat do we have here?”

Notes:

10/24/23 UPDATE: Chapter Betaread by Sonar009

Poor Anne. Great sense of fight or flight. But as Sasha knows sometimes the best move is to freeze, and wait for better options.

Well there we have it for chapter 2! Fun fact, that whole bit where the lock is just hanging off the door uselessly? Originally Marcy was gonna bypass it by revealing she had lockpicking skills. How she used it for mischief with the girls, yadda yadda. But when I went back to the episode for details, I noticed that thing just hangs there uselessly

Thanks to everyone whose left kudos and comments, they're a great motivator. Next week we'll see Marcy getting her hands on something she's always dreamed of...

Chapter 3: Comrades in Conjuring

Summary:

Marcy finds out a very important facet about her new home.

- Marcy’s Journal -

Day 12 in Amphibia,

Been with the Plantars for about a week now and it’s been going pretty good. I think Hop Pop’s warmed up to me after I helped install a deadbolt on the front door and then fixed it when it fell off its hinges. 

The only real trouble was when the basement flooded. Sprig and I managed to fix it after a couple days but in the meantime Sprig let me stay in his room, it was fun!

He had some homemade figurines of old war heroes and we passed the time with him telling me about some of the old heroes [Detailed Notes on Page 26]. As it turns out, most of the ‘wars’ here in Amphibia were fought against the elements, clearing out dangerous wildlife to build settlements. Sprig didn’t seem to understand what I meant when I asked about wars with other kingdoms. Apparently the ruling Leviathan dynasty has kept the continent united for all of recorded history, which is wild if true. Gonna have to look into it more.

In other news, Hop Pop’s been talking me up to the townsfolk, and I might get to accompany the Plantars on Market Day this week! 

---

“Marig? No, too gruff… Wutar? No, sounds off… Spricy?” Sprig paced back and forth in front of Marcy. They were hanging out at the edge of the Plantars’ property.  “No…” 

Marcy shrugged, similarly stumped. “I’m sorry Sprig, but I don’t think anything's gonna sound better than ‘Sparcy’.”

“But that sounds like our friendship is scattered to the wind!” Sprig complained, not for the first time. 

“Sometimes names just don’t go together,” Marcy commiserated. She tapped her chin, thought it over, and then smiled. “Though, that just means we get to make up a cool name for ourselves.”

Sprig’s eyes lit up. “Ooh! Yes! How about The Mantis Mashers?”

“Hm, it sounds good, but seems kinda narrow… What about the Heroes of the Valley!”  

“Kinda presumptuous. And long…”

They both hummed as they thought it over. “Well, no need to rush. We’ll workshop it,” Marcy suggested. “Could you tell me more about the people around here?” Marcy opened her journal to the page she’d made about the residents of Wartwood.

Sprig looked uncertain. “I don’t know, Marcy. Don’t you think it might scare people if you know all their names,likes, and dislikes before you even meet them?”

“Listen Sprig, I have got to make a good impression this Sunday,” she said seriously, “If I have to rely on my own social graces, it's not gonna go well, trust me. But if I have information, then I can study, and if I study, then I can plan.” She tapped her journal. “I’ll design a matrix for small talk that I can memorize and adapt to each person. That way I can come off as a totally normal girl who is not an evil spirit.”

“Well, I followed some of that, and you do sound like you know more than me.” 

“Great! Let’s prioritize who we're most likely to talk to.”

“Well, I already told you about Chuck. He always makes a point to come by and talk shop with Hop Pop.”

Marcy looked at him skeptically. “...The one who only talks about tulips?”

“I mean, yes, but it's- it’s how he talks about tulips.” He shook his head. “You’ll get it when you meet him,” Sprig assured her. “Next we have Mrs. Croaker, our most loyal customer. She’s been coming to the stand since Hop Pop was a pollywog. But I don’t think you have to worry about her, she loves me,” he said with a modest shrug. “I’ll put in a good word for you.”

Marcy nodded appreciatively, making a note that Mrs. Croaker could be a lower priority. 

“Who else, who else… Oh!” Sprig snapped his fingers, “The Flours! They don’t usually buy from us, but they own the bakery stall across from ours.”

“Perfect! I might have to make eye contact with them all day! What are they like?” 

“Well, the one who usually runs the stand is Mr. Flour. He’s a little rough around the edges, but a good guy. When he’s running the stand he usually brings his triplets, Rosemary, Ginger, and Lavender. They’re babies.”

“Like Polly?”

Sprig gave a so-so gesture. “Eh, not really, they’re actually kids. So’s Polly, but she’s way more mature than those three- or most pollywogs, honestly.” He paused before pointing at Marcy “Don’t tell her I said that.” 

Marcy chuckled. “Sure, sure. So, who runs the stand if Mr. Flour isn’t there?”

Sprig started to speak, but hesitated and looked around nervously. Marcy glanced around as well, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. “Right, well that would be his oldest daughter, Maddie-”

“Yes?” rasped out a new voice.

Sprig flinched and quickly jumped behind Marcy, revealing a blue frog girl. She had off-pink hair that hung over one eye, tied back with a clothespin. Her visible eye was a sickly yellow with a slitted black pupil. She wore a simple black shirt that was just long enough to double as a dress with a rough hewn rope serving as a belt. 

“Heeey Sprig.”

“Oh, Maddie! We were just talking about you,” he said from behind Marcy’s shoulder. “Only good things!”

Maddie approached and gave Marcy a penetrating stare. “Who’s your new friend?” She circled around Marcy, while Sprig scrambled to keep the human between him and the girl.

“Hi, I’m Marcy Wu!” She held out her hand to shake, but Maddie just continued to study her. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you?”

Maddie came to a stop in front of Marcy, shaking her hand. “A pleasure. You may not have my name, but you can call me Maddie,” she said in a professional warning tone. “With that out of the way, which realm do you hail from originally? Can you return? What are you, specifically? How do you capture souls, and can you give them back?” she asked in a barrage

Marcy smiled; she appreciated not needing to make small talk. “Well, I’m from Earth. No, I can’t. I’m a human. And I can’t capture souls, so I don’t know how to return them.” 

Maddie looked at her suspiciously, then let go of her hand and looked up at Sprig. “Hey, wait a minute.” She reached out, putting a thumb and forefinger on either side of Sprig’s right eyelid before prying it open. She stared for a few moments, then huffed in frustration. “You still have your soul!” She let go of Sprig and looked back at Marcy. “You’re not a spirit?”

Marcy shrugged apologetically. “Nope! I really am from a different world, though.”

Bizarrely, Maddie looked disappointed, “Ugh. Well, nice to meet you or whatever.” Her visible eye focused on Sprig. “Seeya, Sprig, remember to think before you leap.” Her voice dropped, becoming all the more grave. “It might cost you something dear.” She held eye contact with him until he mumbled an agreement, then she turned and hopped the stone fence towards the road. 

As Maddie left, Sprig let out a big sigh of relief. “So, that’s Maddie. Real creepy.” He shivered.

Marcy hummed noncommittally. She appreciated the lack of ambiguity about her motivations. Speaking of which… “She seemed disappointed that I wasn’t a spirit, and pretty confident when she thought I was one.”

“Yeah, Maddie is pretty enthusiastic about the occult.” Marcy nodded, noting that fact down as well. “So, that’s the Flours, who else do you need to know about…?” They continued for a little longer until Hop Pop called Sprig away to do his chores. Marcy wished him good luck and started on her conversation matrix.

Today, Sprig was on hunting duty. He managed to come back to the house with a big juicy centipede. He hopped onto the counter to put it on one of the iron hooks in the kitchen, but as he turned back to head off, he was stopped by the sudden silent appearance of Marcy in the kitchen doorway. 

He flinched back, and only barely managed to suppress a scream.

“Hi! Sorry for spooking you. Question:” Marcy held her palms together, speaking with barely restrained intensity. “It occurred to me that I may have made some assumptions. That said…” she took a shaky breath that betrayed an earnest excitement, “...when you said that Maddie was interested in the occult, did you mean that she studies a very real form of magic?”   

---

Maddie was busy soothing her disappointment in her conjuring clearing. She was so excited to meet a spirit in the flesh, but it ended up just being another tall tale from Wally. She guessed she should be happy no one was actually in danger, but still - this was supposed to be her chance to help someone. 

Right now she was assembling up some fire curses to throw into her frustration pit. Watching the flames dance, trapped with nowhere to go, always calmed her down. As she folded up the curse in its wrapping, she heard a voice approaching through the brush. 

“Wait-wait- Marcy, let’s think about this! Workshop it!” 

Maddie could see the not-spirit, Marcy, approaching through the underbrush. She couldn’t see Sprig, but based on the dust trail following behind Marcy he was trying, and failing, to drag her away. As they got to the clearing, she saw Sprig duck out of view. She rolled her eyes and looked up at the strange creature. It was smiling… a lot… too much. 

“Hello again!” Marcy opened. “We met earlier today at the Plantar farm? Can you please teach me magic?” Marcy clasped her hands together in a pleading motion.

Maddie shook her head. “Listen, if this is a joke, I’m actually pretty busy.”

Marcy shook her head earnestly. “No trick, promise. If you're busy today, th-” she bit back her excitement. “That’s fine. Just tell me when you're free.”

Maddie looked up at the ‘human,’ then searched her surroundings for Sprig. She had never known him to be the kind of frog to prank her, not like the other kids. It was part of the reason she tried to keep an eye out for him. But there was a first time for everything… She smiled as she thought of a plan. 

“Alright, fine, but we’re going to start with the absolute basics. It could take hours before you can do even a basic curse, and-” she said, trying to stress how boring Marcy might find it. 

“Wait, wait!” Marcy dug into her shoulder bag and pulled out a large hardback book and a shiny little quill of some kind. “Okay, all ready!” Marcy took a seat on a stump and looked at Maddie expectantly. 

Maddie looked at the girl, taken aback, but then smiled in cautious excitement. “Alright, so first of all, the field of study is called the dark arts…” Marcy nodded as she scribbled in her book, and Maddie began in earnest. “It’s broadly divided into three fields: rituals, alchemy, and curses. They all require a number of important ingredients, or components, of different types-”

Maddie started to explain the minutiae of spell crafting to her new student. Any idea that this was a ploy or trick was quickly forgotten. Maddie would expound on her hard-earned knowledge, and Marcy would frequently pipe up with a question or a request for clarification. It was a joy to lead someone else down the path of the dark arts.

“So, both potions and curses have components, but curses need a soul?” Marcy asked as she finished grinding her first curse with a mortar and pestle.

“They can only affect something with a soul,” Maddie corrected, observing Marcy as she poured the mix into 2 pouches. 

They were stuffed with a concoction they had improvised: A few strands of Marcy’s hair, choking moss, and fertilized farm soil. They had boiled the mixture into a disgusting clump and cooked all the moisture out of it, then ground it into a fine powder.

 “Curses are robust. They will adapt to basically whatever you hit, as long as it has a soul.” She picked up one of the finished curses and hurled it at her brewing cauldron. The curse poofed away without effect. “Meanwhile, if you hit something living…” she gestured to a nearby tree, which was barren after suffering so many of Maddie’s experiments. 

Marcy picked up the second curse pouch and threw it at the blackened tree. There was a poof of smoke, which cleared to reveal a patch of dark hair slowly growing and spreading along the bark of the tree. 

Maddie turned expectantly to Marcy, remembering her own first successful spell. Marcy was staring blankly at the patch of fuzz on the tree. Maddie felt a sinking feeling. “It-it's just a first attempt, and-”

“I did that?” Marcy asked neutrally. 

“Uh, yeah?” 

“I made a tree,” she gestured with both of her hands, an incredulous smile growing on her face, “grow hair?”

“Yup.” Maddie grinned as she saw her excitement.

Marcy’s outstretched hands slowly clasped shut and started to shake. She started to hop up and down. “I did it! I did magic!” She turned and lifted Maddie into the air, then spun her around. “MAGIC!” She pulled Maddie in for a hug, which was weirdly warm, but nice. “Thank you!”

Maddie smiled and awkwardly patted the large creature’s shoulder. “Yeah, of course.” 

“Ah, right, personal space.” Marcy set Maddie back on the ground. “Sorry, just… Eeeeeeee!” She hopped in place a few more times before she settled down. “Okay, I’m good.” She let out a breath and went over to the tree to brush her right hand over the hair-bark, while her left felt her own hair, “Oh weird! It feels the same!” 

Maddie looked at the strange creature, the ‘human’. She had often told herself that she enjoyed the solitude her little witching grove provided her. A place away from the bakery and the rest of town… but she had to admit that this had been fun. “Hey, Marcy, would you like to help me out with a ritual?” 

Marcy turned and grinned broadly at her. “Would I!?”

They moved to a nearby clearing for more space and got to work. Maddie showed Marcy the thirteen-sided shape, as well as the patterns, runes, and wards they would need for the ritual. Marcy was a natural. They dug shallow trenches in the dirt and filled them in with a red mixture that Maddie had prepared ahead of time. Marcy muttered something about it smelling like a  mix of peaches and paint. The two worked in silence for a while, but eventually Maddie’s curiosity got the better of her. “Why do you want to learn magic, Marcy?” no one else in town had shown any interest. She was curious what the draw for Marcy was.

“I’ve wanted to do magic ever since I was little,” Marcy said without hesitation. “But it was impossible in my world. This is a dream come true.” She smiled brightly at Maddie. “What about you? Why did you get into the dark arts?”

Maddie flinched; it wouldn’t be fair to not answer after she had asked Marcy the same thing. “I don’t want to get into the details,” she temporized, “but there was something about myself I wanted to change. Magic was my only option.” She shrugged “By the time I figured out how to do that, I realized just how much I enjoyed it…” she continued warily, bracing herself for the inevitable probing question. 

“Huh. Neat!” was Marcy’s only response before going back to working on the wards. After a few moments she piped up again. “Is there a way to check if we did these right before the ritual starts?”

Maddie smiled and pulled out an old, tarnished-looking hand mirror. “Yeah, we can check with this. If we did it right, the wards will glow in the reflection.” Marcy nodded and the two of them continued to work in comfortable silence as the sun began to set.

---

Sprig laid flat on his back, having dozed off around fifteen minutes into Maddie’s lecture. He had stuck around to keep an eye out for Marcy, but the talk of components, curses, and conjurings had put him straight to sleep. 

He was jostled awake by the feeling of his toe being bitten by an ambitious beetle. He blinked away his sleepiness, flung the bug off his foot, and sat up. The clearing was empty now and it was early evening. That had been a long nap. He stood up and looked around. Maybe Marcy had wandered back to the Plantar home. However, before he could head back himself, he noticed a soft light coming from nearby. He hopped closer, as silently as he was able, then jumped up to a branch to get a better look. He gasped at what he saw. 

The soft light came from thirteen candles burning at the corners of a shape with thirteen sides. Occult symbols drawn in the dirt shone in a blood red hue. Maddie chanted in an unfamiliar language while Marcy sat spellbound in the middle of the symbols.

She’s gonna sacrifice Marcy!

“I̷̕ ͢͡ɔɒ̢͢l͡͝l͜ ̵υ̷͘qo̷n҉ ̸Ɉ̢͢͡ʜ̷̢̕ɘ̷ ̡̢l̷̛͘oɿ̢b̢ ͏o̶̷̡ʇ ̴͏ḑ̵ɿ̨ɘɒ̶̛͝b͢,҉ ͝lo̵ɿ̸͝͠b̕̕ ̷͡oʇ͢ ͝ɔ̧͢ɿυ̷ƨ͠Ɉ͢,̷̢͡ ̛ɒ̴͠ d̸͢ɒ͏ʞ̵͜ɘ̢͠͞ɿ̨͞ƨ̶͢ ̛͘ƨ͝ɔ͢͢͟i҉o͞n͘ ̕ɒ͡ƨʞƨ ʇ͏͏o̧ɿ ͘γ͏̸o͟҉υ̸͠ɿ̡ ϱυi͞͏͠b̴͠ɒn̨҉ɔɘ̵͠, γ̨͜ǫ͘υ҉ɿ̴ ̴̛̕Ɉ͏̡ɿ̸͟υ̕ƨ̡Ɉ-” Maddie intoned, voice reverberating ominously through the clearing.

Sprig leapt from the shadows of the tree above. “Stooooop!” He landed and started dragging his feet through the symbols scrawled at the edge of the ritual. 

“Sprig?” Marcy asked, confused. 

“Just hang on, Marcy!” he said. He grunted as Maddie tackled him to the ground. They quickly descended into a slap fight.

“What are you doing!?” Maddie hissed. 

“Saving Marcy! I won’t let you take my friend away!” Sprig announced defiantly

“I’m not-” Sprig pressed a palm into Maddie’s eye and she growled, then reached back for one of the pouches on her belt.

Marcy’s voice piped up nervously. “Uh, Maddie? Something’s happening…”

Maddie and Sprig looked back to the ritual. Marcy’s body was suffused with a yellow glow and she started to levitate off the ground. Maddie shoved Sprig away and scrambled for her weird book. “Oh no, oh no, oh no…”

Sprig tried to tackle Marcy out of the ritual circle. “I got you, Marcy!” An unseen force grabbed him and threw him away. He landed hard, which knocked the wind out of him. He climbed to his feet and fought to catch his breath. 

“Nice try, Sprig,” Marcy said appreciatively. “Maddie?” 

“Another spirit is here- the wrong one,” Maddie replied. “Yellow glow, yellow glow…” she muttered to herself as she flipped through the pages. “Okay, here it is, spirit of the beast.” She skimmed through the page and let out a relieved sigh. “Okay, good, it should fizzle out”

“Really?” Sprig and Marcy asked hopefully.

“The key component for the ritual of the beast is a warm-blooded vessel. So unless humans are some kind of weird flightless bird, it should move on,” Maddie explained, but hesitated when she saw that Marcy still looked nervous. “You're not some kind of weird bird are you?”

“No- but humans are mammals,” the light started to condense into a dense fog around Marcy. “Wait a minute, does Amphibia not have any mam-” Marcy cut out mid-question when her back arched as the yellow condensed energy flowed into her body. She fell limply to the ground. 

Sprig started towards her but was stopped by Maddie grabbing his wrist. 

The markings on the ground flared with color as Marcy pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. Some unseen force tried to restrain her movement, but she thrashed violently in place and a number of fissures splintered out along the ground, breaking up the carefully drawn runes. 

A low growl built in Marcy’s throat as she glared up at them. Her soft brown eyes had turned black with yellow irises. She looked at them hungrily and tensed as if to pounce.

Maddie reached for a curse while Sprig grabbed an abandoned mirror off the ground. Marcy dashed towards them on all fours with supernatural speed. Maddie hurled the pouch at Marcy, but she easily dodged aside and tackled Sprig. 

“Ahh Marcy! Wait, Please!” Sprig pleaded, waving the mirror around like a bat. Marcy tried to grab the mirror but recoiled when she touched it. She scrambled backwards and looked between Maddie and Sprig, then turned to scamper deeper into the woods. Sprig looked up at Maddie hopefully. “Did you see? She recognized me! She must still be in there!”

“I mean, yeah. She’s possessed, not dead,” Maddie said dismissively. She opened her weird book again. “That’s not why it retreated, though.” She pointed at an illustration of a demon recoiling from a gray ingot. “It's repulsed by silver.”

“But I don’t have any silver?” Sprig objected. 

Maddie grabbed the mirror from his hand and shattered it on a nearby stump, revealing the tarnished backing underneath. “Silver,” she explained impatiently.

Sprig nodded in understanding. Okay, he might not like it, but Maddie definitely knew more about all this then he did. He would need her help, even if he had to beg, even if he had to sell his soul! “Listen-” he started

Not waiting to hear him out, Maddie shoved the now broken mirror back into his hands, “Come on, we need to catch up before she gets too far away!” Maddie took off at a sprint after Marcy.

Sprig was surprised by Maddie’s worry, but he wasn’t going to question it, and quickly followed.

---

Wally was having a pretty good night, all things considered. He had spent the night at Stumpy’s, spending what he’d earned at his odd jobs on a warm meal and a cup of suds. He was finally starting to put the terror of two weeks ago behind him, when he had been accosted by a creature in the night, revealed to be a fire spitting demon in the light of day. 

But tonight? It was just the stars, the moon overhead, and the crickets listening to the jaunty tunes of his accordion. 

He heard something behind him and whirled, but saw nothing. He let out a nervous squeal from his accordion as he backed away. “Hello? Someone there?” There was no response. He nervously turned back to the road, only to be tackled to the ground by something slamming him into from behind and pinning him to the ground. He twisted around and found himself staring into the hateful eyes of the Plantars’ demon. It snarled at him through sharpened, otherworldly teeth. “Oh frog, I always knew it would end like this!”

Just before the beast could sink its teeth into him, Sprig darted in and shoved her off of him. When it turned on him he held up a mirror and it recoiled in fear. A ball of sparkly dust poofed off a nearby tree and the demon sped off into the brush.

Sprig looked apologetically at Wally. “Sorry! Uh, new game we’re playing and-”

“She’s getting away, Sprig!” Maddie ran past to chase the spirit. Sprig hesitated for a moment, then took off after her.

Wally stood up and dusted himself off. “Don’t worry kids, I’ll be back! With a mob!”

---

Sprig cast an anxious glance over his shoulder as he followed Maddie. “Well, great, Wally’s gathering up a mob to hunt Marcy,” he said with frustration. 

“All the more reason to find her,” Maddie said, ducking under a branch. She reached into her pocket. Only three more curses left.  

“If Marcy gets hurt, I’m blaming you,” Sprig said indignantly.

Maddie skidded to a halt and whirled around. “Me!? If it wasn’t for you, Marcy and I would be conversing with a harmless yeast spirit!” she said, poking Sprig in the chest.

“Yeast spirit?”

“It's for the bakery, I-” Maddie shook her head. “It’s a long story. Point is, if you hadn’t rubbed out my wards, Marcy would have been fine!”

Sprig was clearly caught off guard but didn’t relent. “W-well how was I supposed to know that? It looked like you were going to sacrifice her!”

“You could have asked?” Maddie yelled. “You think I did this on purpose!?” Sprig hesitated, which told her everything she needed to know. She scowled at him, but then tried to focus back on finding Marcy.

“What did you expect?” Sprig asked defensively. “You always act so creepy and tell me how I’m gonna die.”

“Warning you,” Maddie corrected. The tracks came to an abrupt end. She looked around, but it was too dark to see anything. 

“Huh?”

“I do divinations for people in town, as practice,” Maddie explained. “Most of them are pretty dull. But like half the time when I do yours, it's about your imminent death. So I try to give you a heads up.”

“Oh…” Sprig said, clearly conflicted. 

“It’s fine. I’m used to it,” she assured him. “Let's just focus.”

An awkward silence filled the air, which soon grew tense. The forest wasn’t supposed to be this quiet. Silence in the woods meant that predators were around. 

“Hey, uh, can I get one of those little dust pouches?” Sprig whispered, making a grasping gesture with his free hand. “I’m a pretty good shot…”

Maddie shook her head. Sure, things were dire, but she had very good - not petty - reasons not to give any to Sprig. After all, she only had a few left. “Someone needs to have the mirror ready.”

They stood back to back, scanning their surroundings; there was a slight shift in the wind. 

“Above us!” Sprig announced. They dove in opposite directions as the Beast slammed into the ground where they’d been standing. Maddie flung a curse as she dodged out of the way, but it went wide. 

Sprig held up the silver mirror defensively, but the Beast was focused on Maddie. She fished out her second curse and held it at the ready as the Beast sized her up. She braced herself and tried to read its movements. It dashed forward and Maddie flung the pouch, but it had been a feint; the Beast darted to the side and the curse exploded harmlessly in the dirt. 

Maddie scrambled backwards as the Beast lunged for her, but it was halted by Sprig leaping onto its shoulders. He wrapped his legs around its neck and tried to force the mirror in front of its face, but it used Marcy’s long arms to grab Sprig and hurl him away into a nearby thorn bush. 

Maddie reached for her last curse, but the Beast was too close and too fast for her to trust her aim. Her hand shook as she backed up until she felt the rough bark of a tree bite into her back. Her pulse quickened as the Beast stalked towards her, warily eyeing the pouch in her hand as it approached. Well, I’d  wanted to meet a spirit in the flesh…

Behind the Beast, Sprig had managed to untangle himself from the thorn bush. He waved for Maddie’s attention and threw the mirror towards her. “Trade!” he shouted. The Beast took advantage of her distraction to surge forward; Maddie lobbed the curse towards Sprig and barely managed to catch the mirror. The Beast shied away from the reflected moonlight with a growl of frustration.

Sprig nimbly plucked the curse from the air and drew his slingshot. With the Beast’s attention on Maddie, he was able to load the curse into the sling and fire it into Marcy’s exposed back. 

A plume of smoke exploded around Marcy’s body, and the Beast collapsed to the forest floor like a sack of flour. It glared defiantly up at Maddie as it snapped its stolen jaws at her. 

Maddie returned its gaze dispassionately. She pressed the silver of the mirror against Marcy’s face and the Beast howled angrily. After a moment, a thick yellow mist began to filter out of Marcy’s mouth and dissipate into the night air.

“Ugh…” Marcy groaned. “Thanks…”

“Phew,” Maddie and Sprig said in unison. Before they could celebrate, they noticed a glowing sea of lights coming up the road. 

“Wow, no one can gather a mob quite like Wally,” Sprig said, a tinge of worry in his voice. “Come on Marcy, we gotta go board everything up before they get to the house.”

Marcy turned her head to look up at them. “Uh, problem with that: I can’t seem to move anything besides my head.”

“Yeah, that's the curse. Don’t worry, I have a plan,” Maddie rasped out. “Sprig, help me move her and both of you follow my lead.”

---

The mob, half of them dressed in their night clothes and suppressing yawns, marched down the road with Wally at their head. Pitchforks and torches were raised, set to drive the spirit out of Wartwood for good. It was late, but it was never too late to be a good citizen. 

“Ahhhhh!” rasped out the voice of Maddie Flour from the direction of the brush.

“It’s that way!” screeched Wally. The mob scrambled through the underbrush towards the disturbance. 

“Ahhh Hahaha!” Once they arrived, they found Sprig and Maddie standing on either side of the spirit. It was laid out belly up on a large stump, with its tongue lolled out grotesquely. “The beast has been slain!” Maddie called out. She raised her hands and cackled madly before turning to Sprig. “Now my homunculus, we can cut it up and-” Maddie turned to their confused audience. “...Uh, can we help you?”

“There’s the creature!” Wally said, pointing dramatically. 

Maddie and Sprig looked around in feigned confusion, then looked back at Wally. “You mean Marcy?” Sprig asked incredulously. “I told you, we were just playing a game.” He shrugged and smirked at Wally. 

Marcy stopped playing dead. “I’m the monster they’re hunting,” Marcy supplied cheerfully. “Sorry about earlier, I kinda lost myself in the roleplay.” 

“We were just getting to the good part, so if you don’t mind…” Maddie made a shooing motion.

“None of you are buying this, right?” Wally turned to the crowd, which was muttering uneasily to itself. 

A frog in a tophat and footie-pajamas spoke up. “She don’t look evil.” Marcy looked up at him with shining, too-wide eyes. The frog shuddered. “Weird and creepy, sure. But not evil.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking Hopediah has the right of it,” pronounced another. “Strange, but not dangerous.”

“If we chased out everyone like that, there wouldn’t be anyone left in Wartwood,” a third joked. 

Murmurs of agreement started to ring out of the crowd and they began to disperse. 

“Are you kidding me!?” Wally whined. He turned to the two frog kids and their pet spirit, but just shook his head and walked off, frustrated. 

---

Marcy let out a sigh of relief as the citizens of Wartwood scattered to return to their homes. She had been aiming for normal, but she could settle for weird but harmless. It had worked out well enough for her on Earth anyways. Marcy looked at her two companions. They looked okay, all things considered.

“Looks like we pulled it off,” Maddie said.

“Yep,” Sprig agreed. He turned to Maddie guiltily. “I’m sorry for causing all of this. I should have asked you to explain what was going on before I messed with something I didn’t understand.”

Maddie looked surprised by the apology, but gave a reluctant smile. “Well, I should have shared why I was telling you about your possible death,” she admitted. Her expression shifted to a mischievous grin. “Your reactions were really funny though.” 

Sprig narrowed his eyes, but chuckled. “Yeah, I can imagine,” he agreed.

Marcy smiled; it was nice to see the two make amends. Seeing her two new friends fighting had been stressful. “Hey guys? Still can’t move. Little help?”

“No worries!” Maddie smiled and pulled out a small pink vial. “I have an antidote that-” she paused, “-won’t work, ‘cause Sprig’s technically the one that cursed you.” 

Sprig groaned. “Why not?”

Marcy lolled her head over to face Sprig. “You can only get rid of curses by transferring them to someone else, or having the original caster dispel it.”

“Well said,” Maddie agreed proudly. “Alright, I’ll get her legs, you get her arms, we need to go back to my witching grove. I’ll run you through the antidote process.” The two frog children managed, with some difficulty, to start carrying Marcy back across the forest.

“So…” Sprig started as they walked. “What was being possessed like?”

Marcy thought about it. She hadn’t had much time to reflect on everything, what with having to deal with the mob right after she was freed. She had been trapped in her own mind. Watching, hearing, and feeling everything the spirit did to hunt her friends. She swallowed hard as she remembered how close she had come to hurting both Maddie and Sprig. “Not great… really hope it never happens again.” She had to learn more about all this. It was just like Cynthia Coven learned at the end of the first book: 'With great magic comes great responsibility.’ "I'll have to take a rain check on the ritual stuff, Maddie..."

"Understandable." Marcy felt Maddie shrug as it jostled her body. “Listen, I'm sorry how this all went down... even if it wasn't my fault.” She paused. “How about you borrow my grimoire to study for a bit?”

Marcy angled her head as best she could to see Maddie. “Really?”

“It’ll be good for learning the basics,” she justified. “But if you run into any trouble, you can stop by any time...” she said nervously. 

“I'll take you up on that!” Marcy grinned. She felt Maddie’s shoulders relax underneath her.

With little else to focus on in her current state, Marcy used her tongue to feel around her mouth, quickly flinching in pain. “Ow… I think my canines are sharper now…”

Notes:

10/24/23 UPDATE: Chapter Betaread by Sonar009

DONE! Whew. That was definitely the most I've worked on a chapter so far, rewrote the middle part several times. Hope it was enjoyable for all of you! This chapter is also where I'm introducing Marcy's Journal as a thing. Mostly to comment on any event that happened in canon that I think Marcy would effect, but not be so drastic/defining as to justify a whole chapter.

As always thank you to everyone leaving comments and kudos, they got me to push through a pretty stubborn writers block this week. A special thank you to Trooper924 for pointing out it was 'Wartwood' and not 'Wortwood'. I had just ordered a commission and was able to correct it in time.

As a fun fact for the week, Maddie's incantation is technically just a normal English sentence put through 3 text filters to make it look all messed up. That was fun to tinker with

Thanks everyone for reading, see you all next Sunday. Marcy will be putting her brand new skillset to use.

Chapter 4: Green Thumb War

Summary:

Marcy gets the opportunity to help out on the farm.

- Marcy’s Journal -

[Surrounding this entry are a number of formulas for curses and potions. One is scratched out with a note that reads, ‘Potion and Curse recipes do not mix!’ A second is for an anti-anxiety potion with a note that reads ‘Works too well, recipient has no verbal filter’]

Day 17 in Amphibia, 

Good news, the people around town are really starting to accept me. Well… Tolerate me. There was a big potluck event today and no one chased me off with a broom! No one even tried!

It would have been a really fun day if not for the shame cage. The mayor, Toadstool, judges everyone’s dishes, and the winner gets celebrated while the loser gets put into a suspended cage to have rotten vegetables thrown at them for the night. The Plantars usually end up in the cage. I did my best to help, but that went about as well as I expected it to.

The food everyone else cooked was really good though. I was able to sneak the three of them some- after everyone was done throwing stuff.

In related news, I am now banned from cooking in 3 4 kitchens in two different worlds!

---

“So this farm has belonged to the Plantars for twelve generations?” Marcy asked with amazement. 

“Yup!” Hop Pop said with pride. “It’s been close to four centuries since the lands were redistributed,” he explained. “See, it used to be that the toads or newts owned all the settled land in Amphibia and the frogs and axolotls just worked it. Those were dark days.” He shook his head. “A family could be thrown out of their house and left homeless on a whim. But when King Andrias realized how cruel the toad lords were, he decreed that all farmland would be owned by whoever worked it. We still have the deed our ancestor received from the Royal Minister of Agriculture.” 

“Oooh! Can you show me later?”

“Of course!” Hop Pop grinned. “I have to say, it’s nice that someone around here is interested in the farm’s history, but are you sure you want to help work it? It’s a lot and you do plenty fixing up the house…” He paused to look back at Marcy. She still moved a little stiffly from whatever misadventure she and Sprig had gotten into the week before

“I’ll be okay!” she insisted. 

“Have you done any farm work before?” Hop Pop asked as they crested over the hill overlooking most of the Plantar’s crops. 

“No,” Marcy admitted. “I lived in the city all my life, but I did help Mr. Boonchuy with his garden a few times.”

“Mr. Boon-Chuy?” Hop Pop asked, awkwardly sounding out the name.

“Oh, I told you about Anne, right?”

“The one who you think’s in the valley?”

Marcy nodded. “Well, her last name is Boonchuy. I used to help her dad with the gardening at their house, though it's been a couple of years,” she admitted

“You couldn’t do that at your own house?” Hop Pop asked curiously. 

“No. There… wasn’t enough space.” She shrugged and averted her eyes. 

Hop Pop paused; something wasn’t quite right there, but he supposed that it wasn’t really his business to press. “Well, farming is a bit of a different beast. If it’s too much, just let me know.” Marcy nodded. He gestured to the small plot back by the house, where a few cabbages and other veggies poked out from the ground. “This is where we keep a few things growing for ourselves, for dinner and the like. If you have any favorites, we can plant a few when we get some space.” 

“Thank you! Hmm… I’ll want to try a few more options, if that’s okay,” Marcy answered. 

Hop Pop nodded. “So, part of the day's work, like the rest of the fields, is to water the crops.” He hoisted up an old watering can. 

Marcy nodded, contemplating something, “So… you water everything by hand? No irrigation?”

“Irra-what now?”

Marcy’s face lit up. “Oh!” She pulled out her journal and started to sketch out a quick diagram. “Irrigation is a farming practice from my world. You dig canals from water sources out to your crops. It would be a lot of work normally, but you live right on a river!” Marcy said. She gestured at the river. “Tell me, does it ever flood?” 

“When it rains,” Hop Pop confirmed, trying to parse the sketch Marcy was showing him.

“Perfect! Alright, but for now: hand watering. Got it,” she confirmed with a nod. “What’s next?”

Hop Pop led her to the plot near the edge of the forest. “Over here is where we grow our Plantar-patented giant sugar melons! My great grandfather spent years breeding the seeds for these!” He gestured grandly to a plot filled with pink-striped melons. 

Marcy crouched down to look at one; they were barely more than a foot around. “Are they uh… still growing?”

Hop Pop looked at the crops, a little disappointed himself. “No, they’re almost ripe, actually… they seemed so big when I was little, but they’ve been growing smaller with each passing year.” He shook his head sadly. When he turned back to Marcy, she was looking up at the sun. “You alright there?”

She pointed at the sun and traced its path across the sky, ending with her pen pointing at the forest. “Have you always grown them on this plot?” 

“Yup, every spring for as long as I can remember,” he confirmed. It had been that way ever since he was Polly’s age.

“Well that’s the problem!” Marcy said. 

Hop Pop frowned. “Marcy, my grandfather pulled melons out from this plot bigger than himself! There’s nothing wrong with the soil,” he assured.

“But I bet that forest wasn’t so close back then, was it?” She pointed to the forest that bordered the plot. “A lot of those look like new growth trees, a few decades old at most.”

Hop Pop looked at the trees with a frown and an old memory surfaced. He remembered playing in the field between the treeline and the plot. 

“I think the sugar melons aren’t getting enough sunlight, they’re under shade from those trees for almost the whole morning,” Marcy theorized. “Next time, you should plant them someplace sunnier, or cut back the trees if you have the time.”

“Huh…” 

“What’s next?” Marcy asked excitedly. 

With slight hesitation, Hop Pop moved on with the tour.

---

“Ah, this plot might be too isolated from the forest, I don’t think the crops are getting pollinated enough. Maybe if we plant some flowers around the edges…”

---

Marcy pulled up a half eaten radish. “I think these got munched on by those burrowing roaches from last week. We’ll need to replant these…”

---

“You used the same tools to dig out the blighted spudtatoes? You probably spread the sickness that way, it’s really important to clean tools between because- Oh man, do you guys know about germ theory?”

---

Marcy glided down the dirt road at a skip. She was riding high; with her knowledge of human agriculture, she would be able to not just make the farm more productive, but less labor intensive, too! She had seen how tired Hop Pop had been coming in from the field each day.

Even now, Marcy had to slow down a bit because Hop Pop was lagging behind, but that was okay, she was busy laying out plans in her journal. She eventually came to a stop at the edge of the Plantars’ property. Before her laid a series of tilled fields, currently overgrown with weeds. 

“Ooh, are you letting these fields lie fallow?” Marcy asked. 

Hop Pop took a slow breath. “Yup, letting these parts of the field rest, good for the soil.”

Marcy looked at the size of the field compared to all the ones they had passed so far. “It's a three-field system, right? I think we could make improvements!” Marcy said excitedly, drawing up a new diagram, “It would have to wait ‘til next season, but we can start a four-field system, where instead of letting a third of the field lay unproductive, we could grow some kind of grazing crop instead, something for Bessie to eat. That way you wouldn’t need to buy feed for her at the market.” She finished the rough blueprint of the idea and turned to show it to Hop Pop- and realized she had made some kind of mistake. 

Hop Pop had a scowl deeper than she had ever seen. “Oh, it’s all just that easy huh?”

Marcy shrunk back, stomach sinking in anxiety. “I- No, it will be a lot of work. I just-”

“No, no. I mean, I’ve only been farming my whole life, and my family has been working this land for centuries. But clearly you're the expert here.” Hop Pop gestured to Marcy mockingly. “What with your city knowledge and no experience. I’ll tell you what, don’t worry about the other fields.” He waved dismissively at the fields they had just spent the morning surveying. “You can work these fields with all your little theories, and show us frogs how it’s done,” he challenged. He stared her down, clearly waiting for something, but she was too tongue-tied to muster a response. “Hmph,” Hop Pop grumbled and turned to stomp his way back to the farm house. 

Marcy forced herself to breathe steadily as she slipped her notebook back into her shoulder bag. She walked herself to a nearby wooden fence and started to drum out a simple pattern on it with her knuckles. 

One, one, two. One, one, two. 

As she tapped the anxiety out, Marcy considered her situation. Far from endearing herself, she had managed to damage the pride of the Plantar patriarch. It was sixth grade science class all over again.

Okay, let’s analyze this. Best case, I’ve damaged my relationship with Hop Pop, and it’ll take a lot of time to build back up. Worst case, he hates me and will look for any reason to throw me out, leaving me homeless once again in another world.

Now, what were her options?

First, Marcy could just prove her ideas were sound. It wouldn’t be easy, especially on her own. The problem was she might not have time for that. Even quick-growing crops would take weeks, and the look in Hop Pop’s eyes… she wasn’t sure she’d be welcome that long.

Second, she could go and apologize and just do things the ‘traditional way.’ Might be enough to soothe Hop Pop’s ego. 

Apologizing was the safest option for sure, but the notion of dropping her suggestions frustrated her. She had been trying to help! Honestly trying to help. Not just for the Plantars, either - if she could jumpstart an agricultural revolution, life would be better for everyone. 

She stopped her drumming. So, she had to prove herself, but none of her ideas, even if she could make them work, would be quick enough to manage it. Fortunately, she was no longer limited to options she had access to on Earth. 

Marcy reached into her bag and pulled out the book she had been obsessively studying all week. After some brief skimming she rushed back to the farmhouse. 

She found Sprig relaxing on the couch with a ball and cup. Polly was also in the room, using a rolling pin to knock a stuffed doll around the room. Sprig looked up to her. “Hey Marcy!”

“Hey-”

“How does this sound- The Avengers? Cause I don’t think we could prevent every bad thing from happening, but we could avenge the wronged!”

Marcy paused for a moment to consider it. “You know Sprig, I love where your head’s at, but that’s already a group in my world. So for me it would be like if we named ourselves Bogbreath’s Brigade.”

“Drat.”

“Anyway, listen Sprig, I need help, I-”

“Sure, with what?” Sprig said, hopping off of the couch.

Marcy paused, touched by how readily he’d agreed, but pushed on. “I think I made Hop Pop really mad.”

“That was you?” Sprig said, surprised. “How’d you manage that? You were like two peas in a pod when you left this morning.”

Marcy grimaced. “I may have made a few suggestions for how to improve the farm, and accidentally implied he was bad at farming?”

Polly chortled. “Oh yeah, that’d do it,” she chimed in. She tossed her stuffed animal into the air and smashed it away like a t-ball. 

Sprig looked doubtful. “I don’t know, I make suggestions about the farm all the time, and he’s never gotten mad at me.”

“You’re family, Sprig,” Marcy explained. “I’m just some weird creature he took in that insulted his life’s work.”

Sprig frowned, now similarly anxious. “Well, alright, you said you needed help, right? Do you have a plan?”

“Yes! Hop Pop basically challenged me to grow something in the fallow fields. I think I can do it, but I’ll need help getting all the ingredients.” She frowned. “Also, do you know where I can get seeds?” 

“The Seed Store,” both of the Plantar children responded in unison. 

“Hop Pop drags us there every season,” Polly lamented. 

“A whole store filled with seeds…” Marcy’s mind raced with the possibilities, but she schooled herself. Delving into the depths of alternate world horticulture and its synergy with the dark arts would have to wait. “Great… Do either of you have some coppers I could borrow?” she asked without expectation. Both of the kids shook their heads. 

“I would if I could,” Sprig said with a shrug. 

“I wouldn’t, for the record,” Polly added. 

Marcy sighed. Hop Pop had offered to pay her for some of the handyman jobs she had done around the house, but she had declined. She didn’t regret that, Hop Pop was already feeding and sheltering her, but it was inconvenient at the moment.

“I can go ask Hop Pop for a few?” Sprig offered, seeing Marcy’s obvious worry.

It was tempting, but Marcy shook her head. “No, I’ll do it.” It would be good data anyway. If Hop Pop was willing to get her seeds then it meant he actually wanted her to try. She started backing up the stairs. “There’s some ingredients I’ll want to pick up in the forest on the way to town, can-” she tripped on the second stair and only barely managed to avoid braining herself. She heard Sprig gasp and Polly snicker. Marcy waved a hand. “I’m fine!” She stood back up. “Just get ready to go if you want to help, alright?”

Marcy climbed the stairs to Hop Pop’s study. Even from behind the door she could hear him muttering to himself. She knocked on the door and heard a short, “Yeah, what is it?” in response. Marcy opened the door sheepishly. Hop Pop turned to her. “Aw, look who it is, already giving up?” he asked in a patronizing tone.

Marcy frowned but shook it off, “Actually, I was wondering if I could borrow a few coppers? I need seeds for the field. I don’t need a lot. I'm gonna start with just one plot,” she promised.

Hop Pop frowned at that, but grumbled something to himself and opened a bottom drawer. He pulled out a small stack of 5 copper coins bound by string. He tossed it underhanded to Marcy, who just barely managed to catch it. 

Marcy turned to leave, but paused in the doorway. "I... didn't mean to make you mad before, but… I still want to help you all. So, I’m gonna do my best." She raced down the stairs, leaving a conflicted frog behind her.

---

Marcy rubbed at her eyes, trying to keep awake; it had been a long day. She was sitting in her little basement, with a brewing setup she’d cobbled together of a bubbling mason jar suspended over a candle. 

The seed store had been amazing, and she would have to go back when she wasn’t about to be thrown out. Most of the plants were completely unfamiliar to her, but she actually found one she recognized from Earth! Lucky break, there. Plus, she hadn’t seen anyone else selling them at the market, so that might get them an edge.

Getting the potion ingredients wasn’t too stressful, either. Time consuming and exhausting, but not stressful. The innards of a silver stag beetle were definitely the hardest to get, but fortunately she’d had Sprig to help. 

He rested next to her as she worked. He had kept her company through much of the process, but he was napping now, the occasional croak giving him away. 

Marcy shook his shoulder gently. “Hey, Sprig?”

He startled into a sitting position. “Wha- I’m awake.” He blinked up at her, bleary eyed. 

“Hey, thanks for keeping me company, but you can go to bed.”

“Whaaat? I’m fi-” a long yawn forced itself out of him, “-fine…” He looked at the murky liquid bubbling away in her makeshift brewing stand and started to nod off again.

Marcy giggled, reminded of times she’d had Anne as a lab partner. “Really, it’s okay.”

“Well… if you insist.” He stood and stretched with another yawn. “G’night, Marcy.”

“Night.” A sudden whirl of air pulled Marcy’s attention back to the potion. The previously murky potion shifted to the color of dark overgrowth. Marcy grabbed her borrowed grimoire and read. The color changing meant it was ready and needed to be removed from the heat. She quickly blew out the candle. 

“For the given proportions… three seeds… for the minimum effect, allow ten minutes… wait three to four weeks for the best results…” Marcy took three seeds and dropped them into the jar. She grabbed a rag to protect her hands from the hot glass jar and carried it out of her basement. 

The Plantar home was quiet, aside from the sounds of nature coming from outside and the faint croaking from the bedrooms upstairs. She quietly slid the deadbolt open and slipped out to the fields. 

Marcy hummed chiptunes to herself to pass the time as she made her way to the field Hop Pop had told her to use. She considered pouring the whole jar into the dirt, but restrained herself. If the minimum ten minutes wasn’t enough she didn’t want to drag Sprig through the forest for ingredients again. 

She plucked out a seed and looked at it; it glowed faintly in the moonlight. She placed it in the dirt and covered it over, then stretched. With all her magic done, sleep’s siren call was becoming more and more alluring. As she padded away, a small sprout of green poked its way out of the soil. 

---

Marcy woke up the next morning to someone urgently shaking her by the shoulders. “Huh, wha-" she opened bleary eyes and found a panicked looking Sprig. "Sprig? What’s up?" she asked groggily.

"Marcy, you need to come- quick!" he said, trying to pull her to her feet. 

Marcy obliged, dreams fading away into reality as she slipped her sneakers on and pulled the velcro tight as she stumbled after Sprig in her pajamas. She stumbled out the door. "Sprig, what’s...?" Hop Pop and Polly were at the end of the porch, looking off into the fields. She rushed over. “What’s going on-?" She came to a stop; out in the field, a massive plant towered over the Plantar farm. It looked like an enormous piranha plant; its roots writhed through the fields. 

She had screwed up. She didn't know how, but she could tell that was where she had planted the seed. She must have made a mistake in the recipe. 

"Well, I hate to say I told you so, but there’s only so much you can learn from theory," Hop Pop said in a parental tone. 

Marcy watched as the giant plant’s roots tore through the east field, uprooting all of the crops that weren’t yet ready for harvest. She had ruined everything.

"Now maybe- Marcy?" distantly she could hear the worry in Hop Pop’s tone.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-” She had to fix this, she had to or they were all going to hate her. 

"Wow, you broke her," Polly commented.

Marcy spotted a shovel leaning against the house. “It’s okay, I can fix this.” She grabbed the shovel and rushed off with a vague plan to cut the creature’s head off. 

She got maybe ten paces down the road before Sprig tackled her to the ground. “Marcy, wait! Friends don’t let friends heroically sacrifice themselves!” 

Marcy tried to get up, but then Hop Pop and Polly joined in and helped Sprig to drag her back just before a root lashed out to grab her. They retreated to the relative safety of the porch, where Marcy slid down the wooden wall, “I’m sorry, I dont- I…” Marcy felt tears well up in her eyes. 

Hop Pop put a steadying hand on her shoulder. “Marcy. Calm down,” he said in an even voice. “Take some deep breaths. Breathe in…” his throat ballooned outwards as he demonstrated, then shrunk as he let out an even stream of air. “...and out. ”

She followed his lead, slowly calming down. “Thank you.”

"That's alright. If you think you're ready, we can talk about this... situation," he said, gesturing back towards the plant monster, “‘cause I’m gathering this wasn’t your intention.”

Marcy nodded, collecting her thoughts. "I don't know what went wrong,” she said, leaning her head against the wall of the house. "I followed the instructions so carefully. Why did it grow into a monster!?"

"Which seed did you plant?" Sprig asked, curious.

"The packet said it was a tomato," she answered.

Hop Pop frowned. "Marcy, that is a tomato plant!" he explained. 

"What? That’s normal?!"

"There’s a reason tomatoes are so difficult to get ahold of, they’re real hard to cultivate safely." 

Marcy blinked. So she hadn't screwed up any of the magic? She had just made a bad assumption. Note to self: find a book on botany to avoid making this kind of mistake again.

"Hey, everyone? I think it’s getting bigger," Polly said from the edge of the porch. Hop Pop gave Marcy a worried look, so she nodded that she was okay. They looked around the corner, and indeed the creature's body was still growing. 

"Well, that ain't good," Sprig said. "So Marcy, do you have some way to get rid of that thing, or should we start packing our bags now?"

"I… I might." She rushed back inside to get Maddie's grimoire. She almost tripped down the stairs on the way, but Sprig helped to steady her before she did. Once she’d found the book, she flipped rapidly through the pages, looking for something, anything that could remedy the situation. 

"No, that's only for inanimate objects... no, that would blight the whole farm... here!" She flipped the book to reveal an illustration of a frog shrinking in size. "This shrink curse should do the trick! It says here it could shrink someone to the size of a brown ant..." She turned to the Plantars. “Brown ants are small in this world, right?" she asked, hoping to avoid making another bad assumption.

"Yup, they don't get much smaller," Hop Pop assured her.

"Great. We're gonna need a few things… First, soil from a sapling.” 

"I saw one just the other day!" Sprig said. He jumped up the stairs 

“A heaping of snail slime…”

"I’ll go get some from Bessie!" Hop Pop offered. He ran up after Sprig. 

“Lastly, a tear from a baby…” Marcy looked down at Polly.

Polly returned her stare with the stone cold expression of someone who didn’t fear god. "I'd start running for another baby," she advised.

"Please, Polly? Isn't there anything you find sad?" Marcy suggested.

Polly shook her head. "Listen, feel free to try, but I won't cry." 

“Okay… something sad, something… okay, the saddest short story ever. ‘For sale, baby shoes, never worn,’” Marcy quoted

“Who buys shoes for a baby?” Polly asked, gesturing to her own lack of legs. 

Tomato roots started to creep in through the walls of the basement. Marcy grabbed Polly’s bucket and rushed upstairs. She caught sight of the onions in the kitchen. “Oh, perfect!” She grabbed a massive specimen from the wall and started to dice it up. The fumes hit Marcy immediately and she started to tear up. 

Polly just looked up and shrugged, eyes as dry as ever. The vines began to encroach through the floor of the kitchen and Marcy grabbed Polly to retreat to the living room. 

“What about this?!” she gestured to the vines, which were slowly  prying the house into pieces, “Your home is being destroyed, doesn’t that make you sad?” Marcy asked desperately. 

“No.” she said, narrowing her eyes at Marcy. “It mostly makes me angry.” 

Yeah, okay, fair.  

Marcy eyed the jug of pain peppers, but her train of thought was interrupted as Hop Pop and Sprig slipped in through the door, slamming and deadbolting it behind them. “Man! That thing’s really growing,” Sprig said. He triumphantly held up an entire sapling. 

“Got the slime,” Hop Pop added. He held up a bucket.

Marcy nodded appreciatively, but then frowned. "Thanks guys, but without a tear from Polly, this isn't gonna work."

Sprig and Hop Pop looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They handed Marcy the bucket of slime and the sapling. They both approached Polly, who looked between them nervously. "Hey now... what are you doing?" Both of her family members raised their hands and she glared daggers at them. "Don’t you dare!" Her warning went unheeded as both Hop Pop and Sprig darted in to tickle the little pollywog, who ineffectually tried to wriggle away from them. Gasping laughter  was interspersed with threats of "I'll kill you all!" and "You’ll pay for this!" 

Marcy set aside her other ingredients and grabbed a small cup of stale water that was sitting nearby; she quickly dumped it out and held it at the ready. Eventually, Sprig and Hop Pop’s efforts bore fruit and a single tear beaded at the corner of Polly’s eye. Marcy scooped it up in the small glass. "There, that’s enough!" she said. Hop Pop and Sprig stopped their assault. 

Polly panted as she looked up at Marcy. "You better save us, or I won't have the chance to make sure you all pay," Polly warned. 

Marcy just nodded, then scooped a good handful of slime into the cup with the fresh tear. She grabbed the sapling and shook dirt from its roots into the mixture, then grabbed a nearby fork which she used to whisk the substances together. The gross muck soon blended into a sky blue, oobleck-like substance. She searched around for some kind of cloth she could use as a curse holder, but her efforts were spoiled as the roots from the kitchen lashed out like a coiled snake and wrapped around her torso. 

“Marcy!” Sprig and Hop Pop both made a grab for her, but she was pulled out through the back door before either of them got close enough. 

The root lifted her into the open air, high off the ground. The view would’ve been exhilarating if she wasn’t about to get eaten. She had somehow managed to hold onto the cup as the roots dragged her back towards the tomato monster. Out of options, she tore off a frayed edge of her sleeping shirt, then scooped the substance into the scrap of cloth and tied it into a bundle. The monstrous plant loomed at the edge of her vision, but she did her best to tune it out as she focused on double-knotting the curse pouch.

It raised her up to dangle her over its open, acid-dripping jaws. She hurled the curse into its open mouth and there was no poof of smoke as the root let go of her. Marcy let out a terrified scream, but by the time she got to its mouth it had shrunk enough that she was able to wedge its jaw open with her arms and legs. Unable to swallow her, it tried to open its jaw wider, but it just kept shrinking, eventually heaving Marcy off itself as it flailed wildly in place. Marcy fell to the tilled earth with a thud. It knocked the wind out of her, but she didn’t feel anything break.

“Marcy! Are you alright?”

Marcy looked up and saw the Plantars running towards her. Hop Pop helped her to her feet. “I think so.” Once she’d regained her bearings, she spat out a slurry of dirt and spit. 

They all looked down into the pit left by the tomato plant. At the center of the new crater was a tiny piranha plant, which looked like it couldn’t be taller than her knee. Well, at least she was able to fix that.  

"Well, looks like it worked," Marcy said with a bittersweet smile. She sighed. “Guess I should go pack my things." 

Hop Pop looked at her confused, "Pack your things? Why?"

"’Cause I ruined everything?" She gestured to the fields around them; half of the crops had been uprooted or otherwise damaged by the rampaging plant. "You gave me a chance and I… I made everything worse," she said in resignation. 

Sprig ran over to hug Marcy, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'll visit you in the forest!" 

Marcy hugged him back. "Promise?" He gave her a fervent nod.

"Now, hold on just a minute..." Hop Pop demanded. "When did I say anything about throwing you out?"

Marcy looked at him bewildered. "I mean... why would you want me here?” 

“Yeah!” Polly agreed.

The agreement hurt, but Marcy couldn’t blame the pollywog. She anxiously wrung the bottom of her torn nightshirt. “I've been nothing but trouble for all of you.It's not like you owe me anything..." she said, curling into herself a bit.

A sad smile crossed Hop Pop's lips and he shook his head. "Maybe not, but that doesn't mean I want you gone."

"She set the kitchen on fire!" Polly objected.

"And tripped and broke your family cane," Marcy added. She still felt bad about that. 

"Both of which you fixed," Hop Pop countered. He looked at Marcy sympathetically. "Marcy, I'm sorry if I let my pride get the better of me yesterday. I was frustrated, but I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that." 

Marcy smiled, feeling a quiver in her throat.

"Besides, if I recall, I’m the one who challenged you to grow something in the fallow fields..." He looked down at the tomato plant. "I can’t honestly say you failed." 

Marcy smiled, but it quickly soured. "No, not really. I cheated." 

"Cheated?"

"I used magic to make the seed grow fast," she admitted, "The methods I was telling you about yesterday would work, but that's not what I used to grow all that," she said, gesturing at the field. 

Hop Pop pressed on. "So, you leveraged a skillset you only started learning a week ago to do all that? In the Plantar house we call that gumption. If I had been there to guide you like I said I would, we could have avoided all this…"

Marcy blinked, unsure how this had all gotten turned around on her. "N-no, I shouldn't have made assumptions, I could have asked you what was best to grow."

Hop Pop looked unsatisfied, but shrugged. "Then let's say we were both in the wrong, and call it even." He gave her a magnanimous little wink. Before Marcy could object again, Hop Pop examined the newly-ripped hem of her shirt. “Hmm… gonna have to bust out the sewing kit. I can patch that in a jiffy…”

Marcy smiled, feeling the knot of anxiety in her stomach start to unwind for the first time since she’d first intruded into the Plantar home.

“What are we going to do with that thing?” Polly asked, looking down at the little snapping tomato plant. 

“It’s kind of cute when it's so small,” Sprig said. 

Marcy looked down at the creature and hummed. 

"What’cha thinking, Marcy?" Hop Pop asked earnestly.

"Well, it might be a little risky," she said, waving her hand. "But I was thinking if we took a tiny tomato, and then applied a curse antidote, would we get a giant tomato?"

---

"Come try the fruit that bites back!” Sprig announced. “Plantar's new patented tomatoes here for you to try!" 

A crowd was surrounding the Plantar stand like it never had before. Mayor Toadstool walked up with a grouchy expression. "Hopidaiah, how in the world have you come to sell tomatoes? No farmer in the valley is crazy enough to grow those things."

Hop Pop shrugged. "Sorry, but I can't say. Trade secret," he said with a wink back towards Marcy. She beamed back at him, then returned to slicing the tomato.

Notes:

11/23/23 UPDATE: Chapter Betaread by Sonar009

Man, it is really fun coming up with chapter summaries. I modeled it like the episode summaries on Disney+ and its so much just understating everything. So here we are at Chapter 4, we got one more chapter in this introductory arc for Marcy.

Thanks to everyone leaving comments and Kudos, especially That_Introverted_Guy for always leaving such earnest comments and to Turovsky for their really in depth comment and giving me the kick to rework my fic summery.

Also I commissioned some art for chapter updates. It was done by the wonderful Jimmy Martinez on Tumblr. They do great stuff. 

Next week Marcy gets to do a bit more experimenting. Time for a bit of artificing.

Chapter 5: Marcio Kart

Summary:

Marcy and Polly work on a project together.

- Marcy's Journal -

Day 22 in Amphibia, 

Hop Pop is letting me keep the tomato plant! I was able to repot it and bring it down to the basement with only minor difficulty!

[To the right of the entry, there is a cute depiction of a carnivorous tomato plant in a pot with a little halo of lines radiating outwards.]

I decided to name ‘em Petey <3. I’ve been feeding them scraps from dinner - they’re a great disposal for all the bug parts we can't eat. Their tomatoes are selling well too, which is good, ‘cause he uprooted most of the fields. I suggested we try and make pasta sauce to sell as well - which led to the tragic news that pasta and noodles don’t yet exist in Amphibia. Or at least the valley? We ended up making tomato juice from whatever we weren't able to sell on the market. 

I should ask Maddie about that. Noodles aren't that different from bread, right?

---

"So what are we searching for today?" Sprig asked as he tossed his breakfast bowl haphazardly into a bin next to Marcy. 

"Oh, there's a redback salmon that's supposed to come in around this time of year. Its fangs are a key ingredient in a sleep potion I read about," Marcy said, washing Sprig’s bowl and setting it out to dry. Hop Pop had gotten downright militant about cleaning stuff since Marcy had explained how there were tiny monsters everywhere trying to make people sick. "If I get it right, then it'll be strong enough to knock most things unconscious!" she explained with a smile. 

The two quickly made their way to the back porch overlooking the river and found Polly sitting on the back deck. She was gargling… something. Spit? After a moment of buildup, she spat clear across the watering hole with ease. Polly looked up at Sprig with a challenging grin. "Bet you can't beat that!" she boasted.

Sprig grinned, stepped up to the edge of the porch, swished for a moment, and then spat a similarly amazing distance, though he landed short of the other bank. 

"Wow!" Marcy said, impressed. “How are you able to spit so far? Do you use the same muscles as when you launch your tongue out?"

"Huh…" Sprig pondered it for a moment. "Yeah! I mean, I guess so?"

"Bet you can't do any better!" Polly said with a grin. 

Marcy smiled uneasily, but after a moment shrugged and walked over to stand next to Polly. "Probably not!" she agreed. She swished briefly and then tried to throw her whole body into the motion as she spit. Uncoordinated as she was, she lost her balance and almost heaved herself into the water; thankfully, Sprig was able to catch her before she fell. Her shot barely traveled a foot through the air before it impacted the dirt in front of her. 

Polly laughed uproariously. "That was terrible!" she said." Want some tips so you don't embarrass yourself?"

Marcy flushed in response. It wasn't like she prided herself on this skill she had never developed, but she still didn't like being mocked. "No, that's okay, I doubt I could ever get it farther than you," she conceded. With that, she and Sprig beat a hasty retreat towards the river.

---

Marcy followed Hop Pop along an old, overgrown walking path at the back of the farm. He’d said that he had some kind of surprise for her. Sprig had opted to tag along, carrying Polly.

"It should be around here somewhere…" Hop Pop assured. He pushed aside a leafy branch to reveal a small grotto. Dense underbrush cluttered the ground around a mossy green spring in the center which fedsmall babbling brook that flowed towards the main river. "Here we are!" Hop Pop nodded for Marcy to step into the clearing. 

The way some of the plants were arranged, it almost looked like- "Is this a garden?" Marcy asked, walking over to inspect one of the overgrown flower bushes.

"Sure is. My great aunt used to be a medicine woman. Thought you might be able to use it to grow some of your potion ingredients and whatnot," Hop Pop offered.

"Really!?"

"Ain't like we're using it for anything," he said with a shrug. 

Marcy's gaze flickered across the area anew, mentally sectioning out trellises and planter boxes. While she was distracted, a big burrow roach latched onto her leg. "Wah!" she called out. Startled, she stumbled and fell into the little grotto. Thinking quickly, she plunged her leg into the water, roach and all. After a few moments it let go and scrambled up to the surface, then scuttled away into the underbrush. 

Hop Pop offered her a hand as she got out, drenched in stagnant pond scum. 

Polly smirked at her. "Really think you can handle clearing this place out yourself?" 

Marcy forced a smile. "I-I'll figure something out," she promised. She scraped off what she could of the mossy material until she could get back to the house for a shower. 

---

"Behold, the glow light!" Marcy grinned, showing off her first piece of schizo-tech to the Plantars. A mushroom flashlight! "I figured out how mushrooms on this world glow!" 

"Hmm… I don't see any mushrooms," Hop Pop observed. "How's it better than carrying around a regular mushroom?"

Marcy smiled, tilting her device. She’d carved a wooden casing, shaped like a flashlight, with a flat glass lid. Speckled yellow liquid sloshed inside. "I managed to isolate the enzyme that makes them glow. Then…" she pointed it at the shadows under the deck deck, "…concentrated it!" She flipped a switch that caused a loud click, which she had also figured out was the trigger that caused the mushrooms to glow. A powerful beam of light shot out, banishing the shade she pointed at. "It'll be great for walking around at night, or when trying to fix something in the dark, like when the basement flooded!"

Hop Pop's voice was impressed. "Well, that certainly is-"

Marcy turned towards them and accidentally shined the light directly into the Plantars’ eyes, blinding them in the process. "Oops!" She clicked the glow light off. "Sorry!"

They all took a few moments to blink the stars out of their eyes. 

Hop Pop, pretending to recover, gestured to empty air. "That is pretty novel. What about these ones?" he asked, sheepishly adjusting his gesture once his sight returned. "Is this some kind of cabinet?"

Marcy grinned. "An icebox, actually!" she said. She opened the door and a wave of cool air poured out. 

Sprig immediately stuck his hand inside, then retracted it just as quickly. "That's cold!" he said, surprised.

Marcy nodded. "Mhmm! It's for storing food and drinks so they last longer!" She took out a jug of water and poured three glasses for the Plantars. They hesitated at first, but after a moment each of them took a sip. 

"Mm, refreshing." Hop Pop nodded approvingly.

"Great!" Sprig agreed.

"Meh," Polly said, unimpressed.

"Where's all the cold coming from?" Hop Pop asked warily. “It isn't some demon in there, is it? I told you I don't want nothing haunted in the house," he warned, though his doubts didn’t stop him from taking another sip. 

"Don't worry, it's just ice." Marcy pulled a tray from the top of the icebox, revealing a two inch thick board of solid ice. "The cold air drifts down, and the insulated paneling inside keeps everything cool."

"Where'd you get ice in the middle of Wartwood? Hiber day is still weeks away," Sprig asked inquisitively. Marcy beamed at him; she always appreciated how attentive he was when she explained her inventions. 

"That is what this is for!" Marcy said, holding up a neon blue potion. "This is liquid ice!" she explained. "If you leave it in the open air for a few seconds…" she uncorked it, poured a few drops onto the table, and quickly recorked the vial. Instead of spreading out like water, the liquid gelled together in a little oval shape. After a few seconds, it froze, letting out a small crack as it turned into an ice cube. "…it freezes! Shelf-stable ice on demand, and an icebox to keep our food and drinks cold for us." She smiled as Hop Pop and Sprig gave her a smattering of applause.

"Anything else?" Polly asked impatiently

Marcy held up a jug of bubbly, clouded liquid. "Well… kind of. I don’t really have a use for this one yet. It's a potion I figured out on my own using some of the weeds I pulled from the grotto. I call it wind in a jar." She secured the jug under her arm and popped the cork. The bubbling liquid rapidly evaporated into a torrent of wind while Marcy fought to keep a hold of the vessel. She aimed it this way and that, blowing up leaves and dirt all around her. "It lasts for a surprisingly long time," she explained. She carefully set the jug down so that it would blow into her little makeshift table. The Plantars stared at it as the sound of rushing wind continued, unabated. "Seriously. That wind is gonna last a good 30 minutes," she promised. “Can’t really recork it either…” She rubbed the back of her head.

Hop Pop strode forward and picked up the icebox. "Well, Marcy, I am looking forward to trying this out. It’ll save us money on groceries, too."

"I like the light." Sprig picked up the glowlight and clicked it on and off several times; the flashing caused a passing dragonfly to veer off course and crash into a nearby thicket. "Mind if I borrow this for the grubhog hunt?"

"Sure. You two sure you don't want help with that?" Marcy offered, already knowing the answer. 

"That's generous of ya, Marcy, but no. The sacrificial grubhog must be caught by an elder and a youth of Wartwood, otherwise the prediction will be off,” Hop Pop explained patiently. 

Marcy’s instinct was to write that off as superstition, but she now lived in a world where 'grubhog caught by two generations' may be a totally valid component of a ritual, so she did her best to withhold judgment, at least for now.

"You don't want to, either," Sprig complained. "Grubhog hunting isn't exciting, it isn't even hard! It just takes forever ‘cause they basically never move out of their burrow. We did it last year and it was so boring.”

"You did?" Marcy frowned. "Why do you need to do it again, then?"

Hop Pop and Sprig exchanged a look that she’d come to recognize. It tended to crop up whenever Marcy caused something, but wasn’t at fault. Usually it had something to do with the townsfolk who still didn’t trust her. "Poor luck," Hop Pop finally settled on with a shrug. "Come on, Sprig, help me move this thing, then we'll get ready to go." Sprig slipped the glowlight into his belt and jogged over to help Hop Pop move the icebox inside, leaving Polly and Marcy alone. 

Marcy glanced nervously at the pollywog. She didn't really know what to do with her. Ever since it became clear that Marcy wasn't an evil spirit, the pollywog had soured on her. After a few awkward moments Marcy spoke up. "I think I'll… go work on my smoke bombs. They’re not really poofing the way I want them to." She turned and started towards the door. 

"Another boring invention, then?" Polly prodded mockingly. Before Marcy could muster a rebuttal, Polly continued. "All this science stuff is dumb anyways."

Well, Marcy had to draw the line somewhere. "Hey, science isn't boring! It's super useful!"

Polly chuckled dismissively. "Please, you took black magic , something inherently cool, and managed to make it boring and practical!" 

"That's not…" Marcy scowled; science had brought so many cool things into her life. Video games, shows, the whole of the internet! She couldn’t let this stand. "Tell you what: give me an afternoon and I will prove that science can be awesome."

Polly raised an eyebrow at her. "How ya planning to do that?"

"We'll design something together!" Marcy replied with a grin. "If you still think science is boring by the end of the day, I promise I won't bore you with my inventions in the future."

"Hmm…" Polly seemed to consider the wager for a few moments. After a moment, she nodded in agreement and held out a flipper for Marcy to shake between her thumb and forefinger. "So, what were you thinking?"

Marcy pondered for a few moments. "How would you feel about upgrading your little bucket?" she asked with a grin. 

---

After Hop Pop and Sprig left for their hunt, Marcy brought Polly down to the basement in her bucket, which she carefully set down on the makeshift workbench she’d built out of some leftover scrap wood. She reached for her journal, but her attention was drawn by a groan from underneath the basement window, where Petey sat, noisily snapping his jaws at her.

She grabbed a leftover bug from a nearby bucket and approached to feed the tomato plant, but halted in place as Petey lunged for her hand. She carefully held the morsel out of his reach. “Hey, hey! No. Bad.” Petey responded with a low growl, but slowly settled. “Down…” she commanded. After a moment, the plant lowered his head to rest against the lip of his clay pot. Marcy waited for a beat, then smiled. “Good plant!” she said. She tore off a chunk of bug meat and tossed it to the tomato plant, who ate it gleefully.

With Petey soothed, she snagged her journal from a shelf, opened it to a fresh page, and set it on her table. 

Polly hopped off the table. “Alright, let me know when you're done. I'll keep Petey fed." 

Before she could get too far, Marcy scooped her up and deposited her back in her bucket. “Nope!”" she said cheerfully. "I said we'd design it together, remember?"

"What help would I be?" Polly countered. 

"Well, what do you want it to look like?" Marcy asked. "This is gonna be your cart, after all."

"…It’s gotta have big wheels," Polly started, and they were off to the races. 

Marcy was happy to sketch out possible designs, as she worked with Polly to refine them. She did her best to explain which things would work best, and tried to head off any ideas that could cause trouble. To Marcy's surprise, Polly was receptive to the criticism and quickly adapted, offering compromises based on Marcy’s feedback. 

Eventually, they settled on a sleek triangular design. The bucket sat between two large wheels, with a smaller third wheel out in front hooked to a steering column that rested on the cusp of the bucket. 

"What do you think?" Marcy offered with a smile. 

"It's… certainly a picture," Polly said, unimpressed. 

Fair enough. The best part was seeing everything come together anyway. "Well, now it's time to make that picture a reality!" Marcy said with a grin. She brought Polly outside and they worked together to gather scrap wood, branches, and logs to fashion into the wheels and frame. Polly, in a surprising display of upper body strength, chopped the wood down to manageable sizes while Marcy used a whittling knife to carve out the fine details. Before long, they had brought their little sketch to life. 

Marcy dragged Polly and the cart up to the highest hill on the farm. She let the baby speed down the hillside; the wooden wheels worked surprisingly well! Polly was a natural, weaving between rocks and wood in her path with ease. Marcy raced to keep up and was pleasantly surprised to find that her legs carried her swiftly and unerringly in Polly’s wake. A few weeks of consistently running for her life had done wonders for her fitness. She was only mildly winded when she met up with Polly at the bottom of the slope. 

She smiled hopefully at the pollywog. "So? What do you think?"

Polly looked at Marcy, then down at the cart. She shrugged. "It was alright. I mean, it worked, right?" she said blandly. "But I'd have to carry myself to the top of the hill each time I wanted to ride." 

Marcy took a deep breath. "Alright… alright." It wasn't a totally unfair point. Polly was usually constrained to her little bucket, and a cart that only went downhill wasn't really a great mobility aid if she couldn't go uphill. "Okay… this is gonna require some supplies that we don’t have at the farm," Marcy said seriously. She met Polly’s eyes. "We're gonna build an engine."

---

Marcy strolled into the woodsmith’s shop, dragging Polly in a little hand wagon behind her. "Hello Mr. Loggle!" Marcy greeted. 

The axolotl peered up from his workbench and smiled. "Ah, spirit! Come to harvest my soul already?" he joked without any hint of malice. 

"No…" Marcy said, a little crestfallen. A lot of villagers were really stuck on the old rumors. Even the ones like Loggle, who ostensibly accepted her, bought into them. "I was wondering if you had some wooden gears and fans for sale?"

"I don't…" He paused. "…know why I wouldn't!" he finished. He ducked down and emerged with a box full of mechanical bits and bobs. "The real question is what do you have to trade this time?" He glanced down at Polly, "I don't take babies," he clarified.

Fortunately, Marcy already had something planned. "Well, I remember you mentioning how you missed your hair last time I was here," she explained, pulling out a curse pouch and antidote. "This will help you grow some new hair, and this will stop it!" She gestured to each in turn. "Be careful though, the spell was originally intended to annoy the recipient with too much body hair, so once you’re done you’ll need to shave the excess.”

Loggle considered the offer before tilting his head. "I couldn't possibly…" Pause. "…pass up a deal like that!"

Marcy nodded. “Alright, try not to breathe in," she instructed. At Loggle’s nod, she threw the curse at him. It poofed in a cloud of arcane smoke. Loggle waited expectantly until a single curly hair popped up from his bald head. He admired himself in a nearby mirror, and turned back to Marcy with a pleased hum. He shoved the box of gears into Marcy’s arms and then returned to his preening. 

"So these are supposed to make the cart move on its own? How?" Polly asked. She sounded skeptical, but there was an undercurrent of sincere interest. 

Marcy smiled and started to explain the concept of gearwork to Polly as they walked back to the Plantar home. By the time they got back, Polly was raring to give the theory a try. Unlike the first two stages, Polly was fully invested at this point. As they assembled the gears, Polly would watch in wonder when they turned together and groan with frustration when they were misaligned and clunked in opposition. Marcy offered advice and solutions for the work and made sure everything stayed on track. As the hours crept by, they steadily filled the previously empty wooden frame with clockwork. It was late afternoon by the time their little bucket cart was finally ready. 

"So, we burn stuff to ‘power’ it?" Polly asked. She hopped in little circles around the cart, inspecting their work. 

"We would if we were in my world," Marcy explained as she hitched the old hand wagon to the back of the cart. "But here, I had a different idea." She reached for a jug filled with her wind potion. It would be fitted upside down right over the fan blades in order to power the gearwork. "Knew I'd find a use for this," she said with a grin. 

She slotted the bottle into a holster, then tied a little string around the bulbous cork. She looped the string down from there and around a pulley angled towards the driver's seat. Marcy handed the rip cord to Polly and carefully sat in the old hand wagon. It was a little small for her, but she could fit if she sat cross-legged. 

"Won't you slow it down?" 

"That's the idea. This is our first test, we don't know how fast this thing will go,” she explained. "Don't worry though, if it's too slow I'll hop out." She gave a thumbs up. "Just pull that cord when you're ready and we'll be off!" Marcy had barely gotten the words out before the cork of the bottle popped free and a torrent of air started to blow. 

To Marcy's surprise and delight, the little craft took off at speed. She focused on keeping her wagon upright as they peeled out past the front gate of the farm and onto the old country road. This was certainly a faster method of travel than Bessie. Over the rush of wind, Marcy could hear Polly cheering in delight. The sound filled Marcy with confidence; maybe this was finally a way for the two of them to get closer. 

Before long, they arrived in the outskirts of Wartwood proper. Polly deftly swerved between pedestrians like a daredevil. Marcy called out apologies to disgruntled townsfolk as they passed by. When they approached the middle of town, Polly started to circle the statue in the town square, kicking up the loose earth in her wake. 

Many people started to gather around the spectacle. Before they could get boxed in, Polly shot off down the road, laughing maniacally. "Faster! Faster!" she shouted. She threw her whole body into each turn as they shot back out of town. "Let's see what this thing can-'' Marcy heard a snap, and watched as Polly pulled the steering wheel away. "Oops…" Polly looked back at Marcy helplessly. "Uh, how do we slow down?" she asked. 

Marcy blinked a few times. "Oh, right. Brakes…" she mused to herself. She looked ahead and something caught her eye - they were on a crash course with Mrs. Croaker, who was walking her pet spider on the road near her ranch. "Mrs. Croaker!" 

Polly faced forward and saw what was about to happen. "Watch out!" Poly tried to turn what remained of the steering column, but couldn’t get enough of a grip. 

"Huh, wuh?" Mrs. Croaker turned to see their cart barreling towards her. Marcy leaned to the side to try and divert the cart, but she had little control from the wagon.

Instead of trying to feebly dive out of the way, Mrs. Croaker took a half step towards them, scooped up her pet, and hopped just slightly into the air. One foot landed lightly on the front of the cart before she hopped again. Next, her foot landed squarely on the back of Marcy's head before jumping off. Marcy was able to turn back just long enough to see her land gracefully on the ground, depositing her pet and continuing her walk as if nothing had happened. 

Marcy made a mental note to talk about whatever had just happened with her next market day.

Marcy’s attention was pulled away from their near victim by Polly’s voice. "Marcy! Is there any way to slow this thing down?" 

"Uhhh- if we break the jar then it would start to slow down?" she tried. She already knew they weren’t going to have time to do that, though. A simple bend in the road up ahead would see to that. Their trajectory would launch them straight down a hillside into the underbrush. 

Acting on instinct, Marcy reached forward, grabbed Polly, and tucked her tightly against her chest as she jumped backwards out of the wagon. The cart vaulted off the road and into the brush ahead of them. Marcy curled into a protective ball around Polly as she gracelessly tumbled into the underbrush. Thorns and sharp stones nicked her skin as she fought to come to a stop. Once the laws of physics were finally done using her as a plaything, she let out a groan of pain. 

After a moment, she sat up, uncurled herself, and looked down at Polly. "Are you alright?" 

Polly looked a little dizzy, but she was otherwise unharmed. "I think so…"

Marcy looked towards the crash site. The good news was the original bucket and hand wagon were pretty much untouched. The bad news was that basically everything else was broken beyond repair. One of the large wheels was cracked, and the frame had snapped when the hand wagon had crushed the cart between itself and a stone boulder. Glass, gears, and fan blades were scattered about like shrapnel. 

Marcy sighed, looking at the mess, but tried to keep a hopeful ring to her voice. "Not the best test ride…" she admitted. “What do you think?"

Polly momentarily considered the wreck in front of her, then looked up at Marcy. "Eh, it was okay," she said coolly.

Marcy stared blankly at her and felt her hopes deflate. That wasn't right. She had heard the delight in Polly's laugh, how excited she was for each twist and turn on the road, the earnest contributions she made at each stage of construction. Marcy was sure, beyond sure, that Polly had enjoyed herself.

So why wasn't she saying so? 

But Marcy knew. Deep down she knew the whole time. You couldn't make someone like you. No matter how hard you tried.

After a few quiet moments Polly spoke up again. "Uh, Marcy? You there?"

"Yeah… yeah." Marcy stood up and carried Polly to the crash site. She deposited Polly and her bucket into the wagon, then scavenged as many of the gears from the mud as she was able. Once she’d loaded everything salvageable into the cart, she hauled it back towards the road. The sun had just started to set, and the cool night air of the valley started to replace the humid warmth of day.

Marcy let her thoughts wander, needing a distraction from her newly acquired collection of scrapes and bruises. It left her unfocused and tripping at times, but they made steady progress towards the farm all the same. 

After a little bit, Polly spoke up. "So… what do you think we should try next?" she ventured. 

Marcy took a moment to respond. "Uh, sorry, what?" 

"For the cart?" Polly said, gesturing to what remained of their contraption. "What should we try next?"

Marcy’s thoughts moved sluggishly. "We could build it back up… install some brakes?" she said without any real passion. Her brain answered on autopilot. "But… It's alright. I'm willing to concede." 

"Concede?"

"Our bet? Thanks for giving me a chance… and sorry for dragging you around all day." Marcy turned back to Polly with an apologetic smile. "I guess science isn't everyone’s cup of tea." 

"Oh, right. That," Polly said. Marcy felt an even worse pall fall over the conversation. 

Marcy couldn't guess why. Wasn't this what Polly wanted? "Just so you know…" she started, "…once the snowpack melts, I'll probably be leaving. So you'll only have to put up with me for another month or two." She offered Polly a weak smile. She just had to tolerate Marcy for a little bit. Polly frowned in response. Seems even that might be too long. "I'll try to keep out of your way."

The quiet had stretched on for a few minutes when Polly mumbled something under her breath. Marcy looked back questioningly. Polly didn't look happy, but repeated herself, louder. "’m not putting up with you," she said defiantly.

Marcy's heart sank. "A-alright. I'll look for somewhere else to stay…" she promised. She hadn't fled to a new world to be an unwelcome guest in someone’s home. 

"What?" Polly said in frustration. "No- that's not what I- ugh!" She threw up her flippers. "How do you not get it?"

Marcy stopped and looked back at the pollywog. "Sorry?" Marcy wasn't sure what she could do to appease Polly at this point. She supposed she could leave the house immediately when they got back. That didn't seem reasonable. She wanted to at least thank Sprig and Hop Pop and say goodbye. 

Polly pursed her lips in frustration. 

"Polly, if there's something I can do-"

Polly gritted her teeth and broke in to interrupt her. "You’re really cool, okay!?" 

Marcy blinked, suddenly totally lost. "Huh?" 

"You're really cool! You saved Sprig by unleashing a torrent of fire on a giant mantis! Then you created and defeated a tomato plant with random junk from the farm!" she said, gesticulating wildly as she spoke. "It was cool enough that you could do that when I thought you were some powerful spirit! But it turns out you're just some weird, tall girl! So all of that awesome stuff was something you figured out yourself!" 

Marcy was taken completely off guard. This was probably the most aggressively she had ever been complimented. "Thank you?" Marcy said with a confused smile. 

"And you act like it's no big deal!" Polly said, exasperated. "You always go on cool adventures with Sprig. You and Hop Pop chat about the farm and crops and stuff…” her voice grew quieter, embarrassed, for the first time in Marcy’s acquaintance with the pollywog. “…But you never wanted to hang out with me…” she said, not meeting Marcy’s eyes.

Marcy thought back over their interactions." You wanted to hang out?" she asked incredulously. "Polly, I thought you hated me. I thought you were trying to drive me out of the house," Marcy defended herself, "And- and If you wanted to hang out why did you keep… acting so dismissively towards me today? Towards what we made?" She gestured at the remains of their cart. 

"’Cause… this was the first time you wanted to hang out with me… I was worried that if I said it was good enough, it would be over," Polly admitted, poking at one of the gears in the wagon next to her. 

Marcy smiled; this was the first time she had seen Polly act so childishly. It was a relief, really. "So…" Marcy started, "…you enjoyed working on the cart with me?" 

"Obviously!" Polly said, her face radiating excitement. "We turned my bucket into a speed machine! In an afternoon!" 

Marcy chuckled. “Well, in the future just say what you mean, alright? I really prefer when people are straightforward with me," she said, setting off farmward once more. 

"Noted," Polly agreed. "…Can we talk more about stuff when we get back?"

"Why wait?" Marcy asked excitedly. The chill night air rapidly filled with chatter about future projects.

Notes:

11/25/23 UPDATE: Chapter Betaread by Sonar009

Way easier to just bribe Polly with chocolate.

You know, the thing I fretted about the most was if it was believable that Marcy would forget to design/install a brake on the cart. But then I remembered this was Marcy "leapt off a city wall on a zipline that wasn't strong enough to hold her weight" Wu, and decided it was probably fine. Also, editing is wild. This went from the longest chapter in the first draft to the shortest yet after I cut some cruft from the middle

With this we are 1/4 of the way through the season. Pretty proud I haven't missed an update day yet. We got 1 more chapter in this kind of bonding arc so look forward to that next week.

Of course thank you to everyone who has left comments, kudos, or bookmarked the series. They all let me know that there's interest in the story! So thank you all.

As for next week, its time for Marcy to share her favorite JRPG of All Time.

Chapter 6: Scrub Grubs

Summary:

Marcy introduces Sprig and Polly to her favorite pastime.

Marcy jerked Bessie’s reins back and forth to try to get her to move. If she cracked the reins, Bessie would start moving, but as soon as Marcy tried to direct her she would stop just as suddenly, like slamming on the brakes of a car. She and Hop Pop were tossed forward then back into their seats. 

"Come on, come on..." Marcy pleaded. She gave another tug, urging Bessie forward; Bessie once again raced forward but then halted again the instant Marcy pulled back, this time with such force that Marcy was launched out of her seat and into the back of Bessie’s slimy head. "Ugh..." she let out as she slid off Bessies neck. The snail let out an apologetic chirp, then retreated into her shell, which only made Marcy feel worse. 

“You alright there?” Hop Pop asked from the seat. Marcy gave a reluctant thumbs up. He shook his head and gently patted the snail's shell. "You're overthinking it, Marcy."

"I don't get it!" Marcy complained. She stood up and shook off a layer of slime, then pulled out Bessie's history from the side pouch on her saddle. "I've read this thing cover to cover. I know everything from where Bessie was raised to why blurple berries are her favorite!" She groaned and gestured helplessly at Bessie. "Why can't I get it right?"

"I just told you, you're overthinking it! You're not trusting Bessie to do her share of the work," Hop Pop admonished. "Bessie's not one of your doodads or gizmos that you use like a tool, she's a living creature who wants to help," he assured. "You need to work together."

Marcy groaned again. She hated working with others. For others? Great, she loved knowing her part in the plan and executing it. By herself? Again: great! She could work at her own pace and do things her way. Working with others meant communication and trusting them to do their part. It meant hoping they didn’t leave her high and dry on the last day with half of the project unfinished! Forcing her to explain to her parents that it wasn’t her fault she got a bad grade. Not that they’d care that it hadn’t been her fault.

As Marcy stewed in her thoughts, a gentle rain started to come down from above, cooling her off for the moment

"Looks like practice will have to stop for today..." Hop Pop took up the reins and coaxed Bessie back out of her shell while Marcy climbed up into the seat. She pulled out an umbrella she had made to shelter herself on the way home.

---

Marcy sat by the window with Bessie's history in her lap, annotating it with post-it notes. Outside, the gentle rain that had persisted for the last week or so pattered peacefully on the window sill. It was actually kind of nice; it rained so rarely in LA. She found the sound relaxing. However, she could understand how, if you had lived with this weather all your life, it might come to grate on one's patience. 

"So. Bored," Sprig groaned, not for the first time that week. Having exhausted his toys, board games, and picture books, he had taken to lying on the floor and complaining about it. “So! Booooored!”

"We know, Sprig!" Polly assured. She was tinkering with a miniature catapult Marcy had told her about. She pulled a lever that released the tension in the rubberband, sending a little stone hurling across the living room. It flew straight into a framed picture of Hop Poppity Pop, shattering the glass and almost dropping it to the floor. Hop Pop managed to catch it just in time and scowled over at Polly.

After setting aside the picture Hop Pop marched over and picked up Polly's invention. 

"Hey!" Polly protested.

"New rule! no more testing inventions in the house." He pointed a finger at Polly and then Marcy. "Can't have you two breaking everything." 

"Oh, come on! All this ‘cause of one bad shot?" 

“One?” Hop Pop stressed. He gestured broadly around the living room. Marcy looked around; there was a thumb-sized hole through the mushroom on the side table, one of the plates on the shelf had shattered from a bullseye, and many little nicks and dents had been made in the wooden walls and support beams. Marcy had to give the little pollywog credit - she had a knack for designing weaponry. Hop Pop started to carry the confiscated device upstairs.

"You can’t stop progress forever, old man!" Polly called out. Once Hop Pop was out of sight, Polly joined her brother on the rug, adding her own voice to his groans. 

"Marcy, what did you do when you couldn't go outside and be free?" Sprig asked.

Marcy used a finger to hold her place in the book and looked over. "Me? Well honestly, before coming here I rarely did anything 'outdoors' if I could avoid it. When I wasn't hanging out with Anne or Sasha I'd usually be inside playing video games,” she said with a shrug. 

"Vid-e-o?" Polly sounded out slowly. 

"What kind of game is it? Do we need any pieces to play?" Sprig asked, cautiously curious. 

"What?" Marcy shook her head, with a smile, "No, I mean, you know, video games-" She paused, suddenly realizing her great oversight. She slammed her book shut and looked at both the Plantar kids with wide eyes. "No, no, why would you?" She ran a hand through her hair and her heartbeat accelerated. 

"Uh, Marcy? Are you alright?" Sprig asked worriedly.

Marcy got up and started to pace the room. Where would she even start? There were the classics, but which classics? There were great single player games, but they didn't have the time for that - they had a limited amount of battery life to work with. Even if they took turns, it might not be the best first experience. Competitive games, then? But Marcy would feel bad if she did too well at them; she had definitely turned Sasha off of several games because of that. Anne indulged her in a few fighting games from time to time, but Marcy knew Anne preferred games where they were on a team. Okay, so cooperative games… She only had access to the ones on her Nintwodo Shift, so what-

"Nope, she's lost it," Polly deadpanned. She elbowed her brother. 

Sprig hesitated for a moment, but then launched his tongue at Marcy's ear. 

Marcy flinched away, scrunched up her face and wiped away the slime. "Bleh!" She looked back at the siblings apologetically, "I zoned out again, didn't I?" They nodded and Marcy used the sleeve of her sweatshirt to rub the slime off. "Sorry, I'm just so excited!" she said, regaining enthusiasm. "Video games are - they’re a type of art. Part storytelling and part pictures. Pictures that move! Like a story that you're a part of!" She eagerly rubbed at her knuckles, so happy to be able to share this with the two of them. "It has rules like a game, but a computer - a machine - handles all the rules for you, so you just play!" Marcy said. It took all of her willpower to not dive into the history of electronics right at that moment. 

"Sounds fun, probably! Too bad we don't have anything like that," Sprig said with a shrug. 

Marcy put a hand on Sprig's shoulder, an intense expression in her eyes, "Oh, but we do!" She reached down and flipped up the trap door to her room. "Wait right here!"

Marcy slipped down the stairs and over to the raised cabinet. She flung it open and was greeted by a cloud of dust. After waiting a moment for it to disperse, Marcy pulled out her Shift. Just before she was going to whirl around to rush upstairs, she paused. Her hands fell into their usual spots. It had been... weeks since she had held it. It felt odd, considering how she’d practically been glued to it back on Earth. Every waking moment she wasn't preoccupied with something else, she had defaulted to playing games. On the Shift, on her computer, or even on her phone if she was out of other options. She’d always felt anxious when she was alone with her thoughts, but it was different in Amphibia. There was just so much to do and see here. She still loved games, but she didn't feel like she needed them...

Which didn't change the fact that she was psyched to share the medium with Polly and Sprig. She grabbed the third green controller she kept in case Sasha and Anne wanted to play and rushed upstairs. While she had briefly waffled on which game to play, in retrospect, there was only one option. "Behold! A portable gaming console." She clicked the power button and the screen came to life. 

"Oooh…" Polly and Sprig admired as Marcy led them all towards the couch. 

Marcy set the Shift up on the coffee table and slipped the two controllers out. "So! this is a controller, it lets you interact with what's on the screen!" She thumbed the stick to explore the menu. She handed one to each of them. “The buttons are how you select things,” she explained. She quickly loaded up a pre-installed game, a little target shooter, to get them used to the controls. Both took to them pretty quickly. Sprig took time to carefully aim his shots, while his sister blasted away with abandon. 

"This is delightful,” Sprig said with a chuckle. His expression abruptly shifted to a much more serious one. “I could do this forever!" he declared with grave intent.

"Well, this is just a taste! What I really want you guys to play is the greatest JRPG of all time!" Marcy exited out of the shooting gallery and navigated to her copy of Vagabondia Chronicles REMASTERED X-2. She clicked on it, causing the intro screen to load in. The titular vagabonds appeared on screen, looking out at them with simple, charming, looped animations.

"So these are the Vagabonds; we each get to control one! Except for him -" Marcy pointed at the looming red eyed man on the left, "- he's the villain."

“Nice, if we win the game, do they get to leave this soul prison?” Sprig asked. 

Marcy chuckled and shook her head. “No. They aren’t real, Sprig, they’re like storybook characters.” She hit ‘start’ and three cursors appeared over the heroes.

"Who’s the big furry one?" Polly asked.

"That's Toma, he's a big sweetheart."

"What's he holding, a club?"

"Oh, that's a gun..." Marcy responded, already anticipating the followup. 

"What's a gun?"

Marcy thought for a moment how best to explain it. "You guys have crossbows here, right?" Polly nodded in confirmation. "It's like a crossbow that uses explosions instead of a bow string to shoot things."

"Sold! Dibs on Toma," Polly said, moving her cursor over to Toma and selecting him. The furry cat creature raised his blunderbuss in greeting.

"Who’s she?" Sprig asked, looking at the woman on the far left. Flowers grew from her bubblegum pink hair, and she held a large tome and a staff in her hands.

"That's Elowen," Marcy said with a smile. "She’s an enchantress, and she acts standoffish but she really cares about everyone. She's really smart and can cast magic." Sprig glanced between the screen and Marcy, not saying anything. "You want to play her?" Marcy asked with a smile.

"I don't know... yes?" Sprig asked with a shrug. "Only if you don't want to," Sprig promised. 

"Even if I did, I wouldn't want to deprive you of the chance. This is your first time playing!" Marcy assured with a grin. "I've played this game more times than I can count." That was a lie. It was exactly 83 times. She had been working through her no equipment run before she got teleported to Amphibia. 

Reassured, Sprig chose the enchantress. On the screen, Elowen twirled her staff, then slammed it down and looked at the rest of the party with a gentle smile. 

Of the three remaining three choices, Marcy chose the main character, a little boy with anime hair and a bright pink sword. "I'll play Petyr," Marcy explained. “He’s the heart of the party, who urges them all to become heroes.” She had always liked Petyr’s arc the best. Finding a place with the other Vagabonds and going from strangers to a close-knit family. It was a trope she never got tired of, and from what she could remember, this game was the first time she’d ever seen it.

Hop Pop came downstairs with a skeptical look in his eye. "So I only heard some of that, but let me get this straight… you're all playing as... unemployed homeless folk? For fun?"

"Well ‘vagabond’ doesn't mean the same thing in the game world," Marcy said. "Petyr helped an innocent who was wanted by an evil baron, and as a result, his home was destroyed." Marcy grimaced. "...Sorry, spoilers, but that's literally what happens after this screen," she apologized to Sprig and Polly before turning back to Hop Pop, "Anyways, all the characters have a reason why they lost their home. So they end up wandering together, doing good for others! The word ‘vagabond’ becomes synonymous with adventurers in the world."

"Why not just call them adventurers, then?" Hop Pop nitpicked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Well, the name was also a reference to the state the developers were in when they made it. Their studio hadn't been doing well, and this was the last game they had enough funding to make. Basically, if it didn't take off, they would all be vagabonds after their business went under," Marcy explained. "But it was a huge smash hit, and helped them stabilize as a studio.” She vibrated with excitement. "I can't wait for you two to play eeeeee!" she squealed. After a moment, she had a thought and looked up. "Oh, actually Hop Pop, do you want to try it? I can just watch.”  She offered him her controller. 

"Naw. If you all are going to be occupied with this, I think I'll take the opportunity to work on my model ship." He turned to leave. "You all have fun now!" he called over his shoulder as he retreated from the room once more. 

Marcy looked at Sprig and Polly. "Actually, I guess I never asked... Do you two want to play? I don't want to-"

"Are you kidding! Adventure? Saving people!? I’m totally on board!" Sprig said with a wide excited grin. 

"Hurry up! I want to shoot exploding bolts!" Polly demanded.

Reassured, Marcy nodded, "Alright, I have to warn you though, we only have so much time to finish it before this machine runs out of - er, before it stops working. I know it's your first time, but we’ll need to focus if we want to finish," she warned. 

Polly and Sprig nodded with confused determination, and Marcy hit start.

---

[ THANK YOU BRAVE HEROES FOR RESCUING OUR LITTLE TOWN. ]

[ WHAT MIGHT WE CALL YOUR GROUP? ]

[ -INPUT PARTY NAME HERE- ]

A virtual keyboard opened and awaited their input. 

Sprig groaned. “Oh, great," he said with a sigh. “This again.” It had been a couple weeks and they weren't any closer to coming up with a good team name. 

Marcy chuckled at his exasperation. "Well, there is the 'canon' name we could go with. But I actually thought of a good name for us, if you want to hear it." Sprig turned his attention to Marcy. He looked interested, but not very hopeful. Marcy smiled and took a breath. "What about ‘World Hoppers?’”

"World Hoppers?" Polly questioned skeptically.

"Yeah, It works three ways!" Marcy said excitedly. "World Hoppers in fiction are people who go from world to world, like how I came here from Earth!" she explained. "Then hoppers, like you guys with how well you can jump. But also it describes what we want to do! To explore and hop around the world, seeing what there is to see and going to new and exciting places!" 

Before she had even finished, Sprig was nodding vigorously. "I love it!" he said excitedly. 

"Sounds stupid..." Polly said. She paused for a moment, then continued in an uncharacteristically shy voice. "Can I join?"

Marcy glanced at Sprig, who nodded. "Well, it wouldn't be an adventuring party with just two people, would it?"

So, both in-game and in real life, the World Hoppers were born. 

Though in-game they had to shorten it to 'WRLDHOPERS' due to character limitations.

---

"This new gun is really good!" Polly said, smiling as Toma fired explosive rounds into a crowd of ratdeer.

"Yeah, the DPS on that weapon is solid," Marcy agreed

"DPS?" Polly asked. 

"Damage per second," Marcy elaborated. She had Petyr aggroing and dodge rolling around the giant bipedal pig demon to keep it occupied while Sprig and Polly wiped out the minions so they could all focus fire on the balhog together. "It's a way to measure how fast you are killing things in a game." 

"Wait, so it's like math?" Polly asked skeptically.

"Well, you use math to calculate damage per second-"

Polly leaned a little away from the game to shout towards the rest of the house. "Hop Pop! You never told me I could use numbers for cool things!"

---

[ GIVE SWORD OF ANCIENTS TO VIZIER? ]

[ -YES- ]   [ -NO- ]   [ -GIVE REPLICA- ]

"Hm... I think we should give it to him," Sprig suggested with a shrug.

"I don't know, he seems pretty sketchy," Polly said skeptically. 

"He's been helping us out the whole time!" Sprig insisted. “We can't use it, and he needs it to save the villagers being attacked!" He looked up to Marcy. "Marcy, what do you think?"

"Oh, I'm not gonna bias you two," Marcy said, raising a hand, "It's up to you what we do."

Sprig turned back to Polly. "Come on, we need him to open the vault to fight the Dark Scion." 

"Alright..." she relented. 

Marcy tapped yes, already thinking about all the legendary loot they would need. Handing over the real sword meant a much tougher final boss fight. 

---

Marcy was working mostly on muscle memory at this point; night had come on their third day of gaming. They had gotten pretty far, they only had one more boss before the final dungeon. But she could feel herself lagging, and based on Polly's poorly aimed shots and Sprig’s dipping head, she wasn't the only one. Three days of binging through the main story was nothing to sneeze at. She was proud of Sprig and Polly's ability to push through the exhaustion.

Suddenly, an orange arm started waving in front of them, drawing Marcy's attention to the patriarch of the house. "Alright all of you, time for bed."

"Bed?" Polly asked in a confused tone. "We haven't even had dinner yet!" she protested, accidentally firing an explosive charge into a corner of the room with no enemies. 

"Yes you did, I brought it all out to you while your eyes were glued to that dang picture box!" he said testily.

"Just a -” Sprig let out a loud yawn, “- a little longer," Sprig said. "We’re about to fight Duke Baed Gui after he betrayed us to the Dark Scion."

"Well, that will all have to wait," Hop Pop said, stepping in front of the screen. The exhausted siblings let out weak groans of protest. 

"You can finish your hobo adventure tomorrow,” he picked up Polly, who briefly resisted before passing out in his arms, already snoring. 

"He's probably right." Marcy finally said, sitting up and stretching out. "The ending we're on track for is pretty intense. We should all be awake to really appreciate it," she encouraged.

Hop Pop nodded appreciatively at her for the assist.

Sprig managed to wrench himself from the couch and began to stagger towards the stairs, nearly asleep on his feet already.

Marcy exited out of the game; they had saved just before that encounter. She started to shut down the console to save on battery. 

Hop Pop half-turned towards her. "Marcy, lights out for you too," Hop Pop said warningly scooping a now-snoozing Sprig under his other arm. 

"I-" she clenched her eyes shut against a yawn. "-I'm just shutting everything down," she explained. "It’ll just take a minute." 

Hop Pop nodded, satisfied, as he made his way upstairs with his grandchildren in tow. 

Marcy, half asleep herself, went through the motions of shutting the console down. Once she saw the screen start to process her inputs, she went to her trap door to sleep. 

However, as Marcy marched downstairs to bed, a little message appeared.

[ Cannot connect to the internet to check for update. Please connect. ]

[ -Check Internet Settings- ]     [ -Skip for this Shutdown- ]

The screen shone brightly in the empty room, waiting for a command all night. 

---

The next morning, Marcy was awoken by Polly and Sprig, both eager to continue their adventure. They were admonished by Hop Pop to come have breakfast first, but the both of them ate faster than Marcy had ever seen. Polly jumped onto her shoulder while Sprig dragged her back towards the couch. Marcy was so pleased that her plan had worked so well - two fresh Vagabondia fans in just a few days! 

They took their places on the couch and Marcy reached out to turn the Shift on. She depressed the power button, set it back down, and grabbed her controller, but the screen remained dark. She tried again, hoping for a restart. No response. With dawning horror, Marcy realized the problem. "The power is drained," Marcy said, grimacing. 

"What's that mean?" Sprig asked, concerned. 

"It won't turn on. We can't play the game."

"What!? But the Dark Scion is going to unmake the world!" Polly objected. "And Toma's cub is still in danger." She desperately shook Marcy's shoulder. 

"Can't you get more? Do we need to become mayor? Is that enough power to fill it?" Sprig asked frantically.

"I... if I had copper and a big magnet, maybe?" Marcy said doubtfully, "But that would take a while, and be way too expensive."

Hop Pop came in from the kitchen, "What are you all yelling-?"

Sprig launched himself at his grandfather. "Hop Pop! How many coppers do we have? Marcy can turn them into power!" 

Hop Pop raised a brow and looked at Marcy, "Marcy. Explanation please?" 

"The copper is for a generator-" Marcy shook her head, feeling disappointed, "for an invention, but- I don't know if I could even make it work..." Marcy sighed. "Without some source of electricity, I don't think you'll get to see the end."

"But Elowen won't ever free her sister from the Scion's control!" Sprig begged. "And Petyr will never learn that everyone cares for him!"

"We'll never get to avenge the burning of Rel'yh!" Polly said in turn. 

Marcy nodded in resigned agreement. "I'm sorry."

Polly and Sprig exchanged heartbroken looks and collapsed bonelessly to the floor. 

Hop Pop's expression softened. "Y’all were really invested in this, weren't you?" Polly and Sprig only groaned their assent. Hop Pop let out a long sigh and shook his head. "Okay. Marcy, what is this 'electricity' you need?"

Marcy, without expectation, explained, "It’s a type of energy. The closest thing you’ve seen is probably a lightning bolt."

"Well, that sounds mighty dangerous," Hop Pop said doubtfully. 

"Eh." She waved a hand. "It's not that dangerous. Electricity is to lightning like a stove fire is to a wildfire. Dangerous if you're not careful, but it can be a very useful tool," Marcy explained. 

"Hmm... I think I've read something that might help."

They all followed Hop Pop up to his study, where a number of book-filled shelves lined the wall. Marcy desperately wanted to read the books here, but wasn't sure if they were off limits or not. They all seemed pretty important to Hop Pop, and she didn't want to upset him. He pulled a large book off one of the shelves and set it on his table. The cover read 'Creatures of Amphibia' and Marcy tried not to squeal. A monster manual right here in front of her! 

"Um, after we're all done with this, could I borrow that?" Marcy asked with a hopeful grin. 

Hop Pop didn't look up as he flipped through the pages. "I don't see why not. You can borrow any of the books here. Just put them back after you're done." He waved away her concern. 

Marcy gave a little fist pump while no one could see. 

Hop Pop sat up. “Here we are! Zapapedes!" Hop Pop announced, showing a little centipede-like creature with bulbous eyes and two sparking antennae. "Says they defend themselves using a spark that deters predators!"

Marcy looked at the creatures with interest; if they were actually generating electricity, then this could be an amazing tool. Converting food directly into usable energy was efficient and renewable! It would be a major discovery, not just for Amphibia, but for Earth as well. Still, there was a chance that the book was overestimating the capabilities of the creature. Maybe it utilized some kind of static electricity that would be difficult to harness. 

"It lives in the Misty Peaks... about a half a day's journey from here. If we get going now, we should be back before nightfall," Hop Pop noted. Sprig and Polly looked hopeful, though Marcy had her doubts. Still, it seemed like a fun outing in any case. They all broke apart to make hasty preparations. 

Marcy went downstairs to grab her bag, a shrinking curse, and a few jars for sampling. Once she was ready, she headed out front. Hop Pop had brought out Bessie and Polly and Sprig were already waiting in the passenger seat. 

Hop Pop looked at Marcy and gestured to the reins. "Well come on up, then. Might as well get you some driving practice while we're on the road.” 

Marcy suppressed a groan and clambered up to take the reins. Bessie jolted forward at Marcy’s urging, but just as quickly stuttered to a halt, violently jostling the saddle. Marcy could already tell it was going to be a long day. 

---

They arrived in the late afternoon, several hours behind schedule, and they’d only made it that quickly because Hop Pop had eventually taken pity on Marcy and taken over the driving. Marcy hopped down from the saddle with a frustrated huff.

"Marcy, you have to trust Bessie," Hop Pop advised. "She’ll follow your lead, but you gotta leave the small stuff to her."

Marcy nodded, trying to internalize some lessons from their experience today; mostly she just felt stuck. She had watched Hop Pop drive Bessie. She had seen plenty of frogs drive their bugs of burden around Wartwood. It didn't look difficult. It was a problem with her. At this rate, it would be easier for her to build a scaled up wind-cart for herself than it would be to learn how to drive Bessie. 

"We might have to camp overnight, but at least we're here," Hop Pop assessed. He hitched Bessie to a nearby tree with enough length to graze.

They then headed up through the narrow mountain paths. Hop Pop and Sprig took the lead, while Marcy followed close behind. Polly sat bundled in a makeshift papoose that Marcy had folded her sweatshirt-cloak into.

Marcy kept her attention fixed on the ground to avoid tumbling over something. The mist up in the mountains was thick, and she couldn't imagine that losing her footing up here would end well for her. 

After about twenty minutes spent exploring dead ends and other paths, a rickety wooden bridge emerged from the mist. Just past it was a stone spire with a zapapede curled around it, resting peacefully. As it stirred to look at them, its little antenna let out a current of electricity. 

That… actually looks like a pretty strong charge. Even if the voltage is low by Earth standards, this could allow amphibians to leapfrog - heh - several steps towards the infrastructure of the information age. Marcy perked up; maybe this would work after all.

"So, do we just throw this at it?" Sprig asked, having fished out Marcy's Shift from her bag while she was distracted. 

"No, I have a better idea." Marcy gingerly took her Shift back and put it back into her shoulder bag. Once it was safely stowed, she pulled out a shrinking curse and a glass jar.  "If we take this one back with us, we won't have to hike out here every time my battery runs low,” she explained as she began to poke holes in the lid of the jar. 

Marcy looked dubiously at the rickety old bridge. She took a tentative step onto the bridge; it held her weight, but as soon as she lifted her other foot from the stability of the cliffside the unsecured bridge twisted underneath her. She tried to stabilize herself, but with her hands full all she could do was windmill her arms. Three pairs of hands grabbed her clothes and pulled her to safety. "Thanks," Marcy said, heart still hammering. She reevaluated the problem ahead of her. She could try throwing the curse from this side, but the zapapede would just scurry away before she could crawl across the bridge. Even if she could get to the other side herself, she wasn't confident she could scoop the thing up without tumbling off the mountain. 

"What’re you thinkin’, Marcy? How can we help?" Sprig asked.

Marcy looked at the three of them. "I-I don't want to impose. This is all to fix one of my devices, and-"

"None of that, now," Hop Pop interrupted. "We're all out here together, it'll be safer if we work together."

Marcy reluctantly nodded her assent. "Alright... my idea was to shrink it with this curse and then scoop it up in this jar," she explained, handing the jar to Hop Pop and the curse to Sprig. "If Sprig hits it with the curse, do you think you can scoop it up, Hop Pop?" It wasn't much of a plan, and she felt bad not taking part in it. 

Sprig smiled and pulled out his slingshot while Hop Pop carefully stepped across the old bridge. Marcy watched nervously from the sidelines with Polly. Much to her relief, however, everything went well. The zapapede got a little testy when Hop Pop got close, but the distraction was all Sprig needed to hit it with the curse. It shrunk to the size of a fist and Hop Pop was able to scoop up the creature in the jar without trouble. 

"Woo!" Marcy called out excitedly. Her experience in Amphibia was quickly becoming like a Pocket Creature game. She had a grass type with Petey and now an electric type with the zapapede. Not great type coverage, but it was still early in her journey. "You were swift on the grab there, Hop Pop," Marcy complimented with a grin. 

Hop Pop proudly puffed out his chest as he made his way back over the bridge, hand clasped over the copper lid. "Well, not to toot my own horn, but I was quite the bug catcher in my youth. I came out on top of more than a few bug duels," he boasted. Marcy was only half-listening as she looked at the trapped zapapede; it looked less than pleased with its change in circumstance. It scrambled up the side of the jar towards the lid.

Marcy suddenly realized what was about to happen. "Wait, Hop Pop, your hand-" 

An electric current sparked between the zapapede’s antenna and arced up to the copper lid of the jar. A charge, massive despite the zapapede's reduced size, zapped Hop Pop quite badly.

“Hop Pop!” Marcy, Polly, and Sprig cried in unison.

Sprig reached out, but Marcy tugged him back. "Wait! You'll just get shocked too!" she said, wincing helplessly as the zapping continued. 

Once it finally stopped, Hop Pop wobbled on his feet, body smoking and charred. Marcy rushed forward to grab the jar while Sprig helped Hop Pop stay on his feet. 

"That is-" Hop Pop coughed, letting out a puff of black smoke, "-quite the charge." 

"Are you okay?" Marcy asked with a worried expression. 

"Nothing a little rest won't fix..." he said, eye twitching involuntarily. "You get what you need?"

Marcy looked down at the bottled zapapede, who tried to scramble up the smooth glass to no avail. "Thanks to all of you." She smiled.

"Of course," Sprig said without hesitation. 

Polly nodded. "Now let’s get back so we can kick Baed Gui in the teeth!" 

Marcy chuckled and looked back at the glass. “I think I’m gonna call you Zappy,” she mused. The zapapede looked at her with annoyed eyes and then reared back to let out a chittering screech. Marcy imagined it would have sounded quite intimidating if the zapapede was still its full ten foot long self. Her amusement waned as a chorus of chittering that responded from below. Warily, Marcy looked down over the edge of the cliff face. The silhouettes of dozens of zapapedes emerged from the heavy fog below. 

"Wuh-oh…" Sprig said. A chain of electricity arched from one zapapede to another through the conductive mist. 

Marcy flipped open her shoulder bag and stuffed the captured zapapede inside. "Polly, go ahead and unhitch Bessie!" Marcy instructed. She gestured for Sprig to help her assist Hop Pop down the rocky terrain. Even with their assistance he struggled to keep up with their pace, and as the chittering got closer, they practically had to carry him. Polly hopped ahead, unhitching Bessie from a tree and urging all of them to hurry. Marcy boosted Hop Pop up onto Bessie's saddle and threw herself up after him. She made sure Polly and Sprig were securely in place, but when she looked back at Hop Pop she saw him struggling to get a firm grip on the reins; they kept slipping out of his grasp as his hands spasmed from the residual shock. 

"Dang it," Hop Pop lamented.

Polly looked behind them all warily, "Those things are getting closer..." she warned. 

Marcy looked back. The horde of zapapedes had crested the lip of the canyon and were barreling towards them. Sprig looked at Marcy helplessly. She steeled herself and snatched the reins herself. Her first impulse was to heave Bessie back towards the road, but she knew that wouldn’t work; she had to trust Bessie. The snail had been carrying the Plantars for years now. "Bessie! Things are getting messy!" she called out. Bessie perked up. Marcy gently tugged in the direction opposite of the approaching zapapedes. Bessie rotated in that direction, then fired off at speed. Marcy held fast to the reins, feeling more and more confident. She only needed to gently guide Bessie one way or the other to avoid trees or logs on the road. She glanced back at the zapapedes with a smile - Bessie was already outpacing them by a good distance. Then she saw something that sent a chill through her.

Bessie's slime trail had formed a conductive pathway all the way back to where they’d started fleeing. If she didn't act quick, there was a good chance of Bessie getting electrocuted, and the rest of them along with her. Her mind raced for something she could do when she remembered a passage from Bessie’s History. 

It was late Autumn and the Crop Banditos had still not been apprehended. I was bringing produce to market; it had been a lean harvest, and the family needed every copper. So when the bandits tried to ambush me, I couldn't afford to give up the crops. They chased us halfway across the valley, corralling us towards the broken bridge. But they had underestimated Bessie. All I had to do was race towards the edge of the bridge, and-

"Hold on everyone!" Marcy leaned forward in the saddle, one hand clutched on the reins but the other in a fist. She used her knuckles to tap out a pattern on the shell, mumbling to herself as she did. "Shave n' a hair-cut... two bits…'' Bessie let out a chirp of recognition, then slowed briefly, ducked low to the ground, and sprung back up. Sprig narrowly managed to grab onto Polly and Hop Pop as they all briefly floated off the ground. Marcy looked over her shoulder; Bessie had leapt just in time. The first slime trail lit up with an arc of electricity.

Marcy repeated the maneuver twice more, and they’d soon left the angry creatures in the dust. Once there were no further signs of pursuit, Marcy eased Bessie into a more sustainable pace. The snail chirped back with appreciation and Marcy allowed her nerves to ease off. 

Marcy felt a gentle pat on her arm and looked next to her to see Hop Pop, still in quite rough shape, smiling at her. “Knew you had it in ya, kiddo."

Marcy felt an unfamiliar swell of pride bubble in her stomach and turned to focus on the ride ahead. She didn’t want to make things awkward for the Plantars. She made a mental note to journal the feeling down later. 

---

They arrived back home without too much trouble. Marcy’s first order of business was to use some of her collected herbs to make an aloe for Hop Pop. Even if he wouldn't let her blame herself, she could still help mitigate the consequences. 

They all sat around the little lightning bug on the coffee table. "Alright, let's see how this works. Just to be clear, there’s a chance that it just fries the battery,” she warned. She waited until the bug let out a jolt and then used a set of rubber tipped tongs to gently lower her Shift onto the jar lid. A moment later, the Shift’s screen lit up and went into charging mode. 

"Did it work? Can we play!?" Sprig asked, and Marcy had to pull the Shift out of his reach to keep him from electrocuting himself by grabbing it while it was charging. 

"Looks like it," Marcy said with a smile. "But it will probably take a little while. Back on Earth, it took a couple hours to charge-" before she could even finish the thought, another zap hit the Shift and she saw the screen transition into the full boot up. She gently removed it from the copper lid with her tongs. Sure enough, it was fully charged after just two zaps from the zapapede. 

Curiosity piqued, she tried her phone next. It was nearly out of battery after 3 weeks of very restrained camera use. She placed it on the copper lid and watched as the percentage rose with each zap. 

Thirty-five percent to fifty-six… to eighty… to ninety-nine… to one hundred and twenty-eight percent!?

Marcy watched in bafflement as the percentage kept growing. When it tipped over four hundred percent she removed it, worried that the battery might explode. However, other than feeling very warm to the touch, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. Nothing was melted or damaged. The zapapede's charge had somehow improved the battery and made it capable of holding more than before. Maybe it’s just a display glitch, but if it’s not …

“Heh… hehehe, heehee…” she started to chuckle, which quickly built into a cackle. "Hahaha, hahaha!"

"Uh… Why is Marcy giggling like that?" Sprig asked Hop Pop. 

Hop Pop shrugged. "Probably for sensible, only slightly maniacal reasons."

Notes:

11/25/23 UPDATE: Chapter Betaread by Sonar009

Do I know that Anne's phone being charged to 10,000% was mostly a way for the writers to hand wave why her phone doesn't need to be charged while in Amphibia? Of course. Am I going to have Marcy explore the possibilities of magical bug electricity? Again, OF COURSE! Though it will take a while to get all the resources she needs to fully capitalize on it.

As always, thanks for reading and thanks to everyone for Commenting and leaving Kudos! Particularly this week to @Lunny, whose comment made my week. To answer their question, I would be psyched if you made Fanart/Fancomics of A Witch in Wartwood. All I ask is you either link it here in the comments or tag me on tumblr Discet so I can see it!

With that all out of the way, while I don't expect this to be your first stop the night after the return of season 3, I am very excited for the next chapter! It contains a scene that I have been excited to get to, and I'm sure a couple of you have been waiting very patiently for.

As a fun fact for the week, while editing this chapter today, I thought it would be fun to replace the Nintendo Switch for the Nintwodo Shift, in the spirit of silly parody's from the show. Which led me to editing this together for 30 minutes.

Chapter 7: Young Love

Summary:

Marcy meets one of Sprig's childhood friends.

- Marcy's Journal -

Day 34 in Amphibia,

We just got back from a camping trip, it was so much fun! The Plantars go every year, and they invited me! I ended up dragging everyone into the deep woods to look for some rare ingredients, which turned out to be a mistake. It ended up being pretty dangerous, but everyone got out alive!

Also, ever since raiding Hop Pop's study, I've been able to identify way more of the herbs and creatures here in Amphibia. Maddie n’ me have even started to experiment with making new potions. Most of them have been a bust so far, but we are getting magical reactions! Well, magical backfires, really, but means something is happening, even if it’s not what we wanted.

I'm really going to miss everyone once the summer thaw comes. I don’t think Hop Pop would toss me out right away, but I don't want to impose on the Plantars any longer than I need to. I'll have to come back and visit. Maybe I can become, like, a Gandalf figure, coming back to the valley every so often with gifts from distant lands. Then they'd always be happy to see me. 

[In the bottom right margin is a doodle of Marcy dressed in a big floppy wizard hat and robes, holding a staff.]

---

"So there were cannibal frogs in the forest?" Maddie asked. 

"Yep!" Marcy confirmed cheerfully. 

"We almost got eaten!" Sprig added excitedly.

The three of them were taking a little hike in the forest the day after market day, collecting some of the more common ingredients for potions and curses. It had become somewhat of a weekly tradition.

"Cool!” Maddie said, sounding envious, “How'd you get away?"

Sprig pointed to Marcy proudly. Marcy blushed as she explained. "I ended up making a stink juice curse to make us all really unappetizing."  Marcy blanched at the memory. The curse had been very effective at warding off the creatures. It also made all of them incredibly nauseous. "Oh, that reminds me!" Marcy fished out Maddie's ghoulish grimoire and held it out to her. “Thank you so much for letting me borrow this." Originally she had been transcribing everything by hand, but ever since she’d caught Zappy, she’d been able to photograph everything on her phone.

Maddie took back the book, clearly relieved to have it back in her possession, "Thanks. With the adventures you two go on, I was worried I'd need to retrieve this off your corpse." 

Marcy frowned faintly. Grim, but not unrealistic, I suppose.  

"Oh! Glittermoss!" Sprig pointed at a dark green patch on a tree. Hopping to a branch, he moved it so that the sun shone directly onto the moss, causing it to sparkle. Sprig originally just tagged along on these outings to keep them company, but once he knew what they were looking for, he was a great help. He still didn't understand how or why any of it became magic, but he did have a knack for foraging

"Good find, Sprig," Maddie complimented. 

"This is what you need for your water breathing potion, right?" Sprig said, scraping a big scoop of the stuff into a pouch.

Marcy shook her head and fished out her journal. "No, for that I need…” she checked her notes, “...glowstone moss," she said, a bit frustrated. Most amphibians could already breathe underwater so there wasn’t a whole lot written about such a potion. Just a footnote in case you needed to bring a non amphibious animal underwater for some reason.

Sprig shrugged, already on his way back, but then paused. His eyes shifted around the clearing uneasily. A rustling in the bushes drew his attention and he picked up a branch in his free hand. “Hang back! Could be something dangerous."

Marcy braced herself to jump in to protect Sprig in turn. 

Maddie just shook her head and rolled her eyes. "He's really going to fall for this again," she muttered quietly. 

Sprig pushed aside the bush’s branches to reveal a gourd decorated with a crudely-drawn face. "Wait-" Sprig seemed to realize something just before a shadow from the branches above moved. 

"Ambush!" A yellow blur jumped down and tackled Sprig to the ground, then sprung away. 

"I'm hit! Sprig down! Sprig dooown!" he said dramatically, flailing his arms. Marcy was anxious at first, but she calmed down as she watched Sprig ham it up. A yellow frog with ginger-red hair stuffed into a patchwork beanie strolled out from the brush with a smirk. "Hey, Ivy!" Sprig said, face brightening. "Nice ambush," he complimented. 

"Well, I can't take all of the credit. You are pretty gullible," she said with a good natured grin. 

"Guilty as charged," Sprig said with a shrug. Ivy's eyes flashed up to Marcy questioningly and Sprig stood up, eager to introduce them. "Ivy, this is Marcy. Marcy, this is Ivy, childhood acquaintance and occasional-" he threw a punch at Ivy’s head, which she easily blocked, "-sparring partner-" he tried to sweep her leg, but Ivy casually jumped over and kicked him in the face instead. "...Ow."

Ivy approached Marcy, hand outstretched. "Seen you around, you're our resident not-so-evil spirit, right?"

"Not a spirit, just from a different world," Marcy corrected. "But it's nice to meet you!" Marcy noticed Maddie trying to hide behind her. "Oh, this is Maddie-"

"We're acquainted," Maddie said sourly. She glared at Ivy from behind Marcy’s back. "Ivy," she said flatly. 

"Maddie-" Ivy responded. Maddie went back to her book. Marcy eyed the newcomer uncertainly; Ivy looked frustrated, but not angry. After a moment, she tore her gaze away from Maddie and looked up at Marcy. "So, Marcy, do you like getting randomly attacked?" 

Marcy thought about it. "You know, I don't, But I would appreciate the practice. I need to be more aware of my surroundings in general," she said with a smile. 

Ivy looked pleasantly surprised at Marcy’s assent. "Well, great! Look forward to it." She backed into the underbrush again. "See you two later… not that you'll see me..." she said with a mischievous smile before hopping away, from stump to stump and then branch to branch back out of the forest. Sprig watched her hop off with stars in his eyes and Marcy got a sly smile on her face. 

"You and Ivy seem pretty friendly, huh?" Marcy asked in a teasing tone. 

Sprig seemed to catch himself staring out after Ivy. He recovered swiftly and looked back at Marcy, uncowed. "What about it?" 

"Oh, nothing, I was just curious about you two," Marcy prodded innocently. 

"Listen Marcy, me and Ivy are just friends," Sprig said as if closing the matter. 

Marcy grinned; it was delightful when someone just stepped right into your trap. "That’s what I meant. When we first met, you told me you didn't have any friends in town but you two seemed friendly to me." Marcy raised a brow suggestively. "Why, what did you think I meant?" 

Sprig spluttered but shook his head in denial. "Nothing, I meant nothing. We agree," he said. He  started towards the house. 

"Uh huh, sure," Marcy said in a skeptical tone. 

"Seriously! Me and Ivy are just friends," Sprig said defiantly.

"I heard you the first time," Marcy assured. "’Just 'friends,'" she teased. 

Sprig groaned in response. He pleaded his case all the way back to the Plantar home. As they got to the front door, Sprig turned around one last time. "...and fifthly-"

"It's okay, Sprig. I get it," Marcy conceded. It was fun to tease, but there was no reason to torture the little frog. 

"Alright. Great," Sprig said. He opened the front door for them. “Just don’t mention anything to Hop Pop or Polly, they’ll get carried away,” he continued, rolling his eyes before they all walked in.

"Are you two back?" Hop Pop asked, descending the stairs. “Where have you been?"

"Nowhere special," Sprig played off.

"Collecting components," Marcy added, holding up a basket full of herbs 

"Sprig was flirting with Ivy Sundew," Maddie added at the end. Sprig whirled around to face Maddie, wearing a look of betrayal. 

Hop Pop gasped. "Wha- Ivy Sundew !" He turned and jogged back up the stairs. "Wait right there, I'll go get the courtship kit!" 

"Maddie, what the heck!" Sprig said, waving his arms in impotent rage. 

“Now we're even for when you ruined my first ritual," Maddie explained triumphantly. She looked up at Marcy. "See you later, Marcy, let me know how your experiment goes," she added before turning around and walking right back out of the house. 

"Bye Maddie!" Marcy called after her.

Sprig groaned and ran his hands down his face. “Ugh, Hop Pop is gonna make a big deal out of all of this."

Marcy smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Oh c'mon, how bad could it be?" Marcy consoled

---

"Okay, this is pretty bad," Marcy admitted, looking at Sprig. Hop Pop had stuffed him into an ugly, old-timey outfit - massive ruffled collar sat above a striped poofy shirt and pants. Polly had come down after hearing the commotion, and was now looking sympathetically towards Sprig. 

Everything had moved much faster than Marcy could have anticipated. Hop Pop had managed to contact the Sundews and arrange a marriage in almost no time at all, despite Sprig’s objections. She didn't want her own biases to affect her judgment, but judging by how miserable Sprig looked, arranged marriages weren't any better of an idea here in Amphibia. 

Worst of all, Hop Pop’s motivations were pretty skeevy. He was practically selling Sprig to get access to seeds. "Is there a way we can call this all off?" Marcy asked with a regretful tilt of her head. 

"We can't do that...'' Sprig said resignedly. "Ivy already accepted. Even if it's all a misunderstanding, I don't want to hurt her feelings." Sprig said miserably.

Marcy smiled, endeared by his concern - even if it was probably unwarranted. "I don't know about that," Marcy said, tapping her jaw thoughtfully. "That reply came awfully quick. I don't think Ivy was consulted any more than you were," she theorized. 

"You think?" Sprig said hopefully, waddling in his outfit to face Marcy.

"That would be my guess. But I’ll go ask to be sure.” She looked down at Polly.  “Polly, you want to come with me to the Sundews? I’ve got a plan in the works that I think you’ll appreciate," she offered, already untying her sweatshirt from around her neck. 

"Of course!" Polly responded. She jumped into the hood of Marcy's sweatshirt so she could ride along. 

"You'd really do that for me?" Sprig asked Polly, looking touched.

"Sprig, you’re my brother. I just want you to be happy," Polly assured him with a smile.

"We'll get you out of this, Sprig, just play along for now." Marcy closed the front door; once they were past the gate, she tilted her head back to Polly. “So, what’s the real reason?”

“Is it so hard to believe I would want to help my brother out of the goodness of my own heart?” Marcy gave her a flat stare. “...Fine, if I let this happen, then one day it's gonna be me on the chopping block.”

Marcy chuckled before starting the trek towards town. 

---

"Mom! I don't want to marry Sprig!" Ivy lamented. What she wanted was to rip off the stupid dress she’d been forced into, but she could barely move her arms enough to do so. Her mother had shut down the café to prepare for the firefly formal tonight. Ivy was baffled by the turn of events. Sure, she enjoyed hanging out with Sprig - and she was glad they were friends - but she hadn’t thought he wanted to be more than that. 

Felicia waved off Ivy's concerns. "I thought you liked Sprig. You positively glow talking about the times you run into him." 

Ivy blushed in equal parts embarrassment and frustration. "I was just proud my ambushes worked!" she explained. Her mom never understood her. 

"Sure, sure.” Felicia waved her off. “Now wait here, I'll go get the makeup~" her mom trilled excitedly. She jogged up the stairs to their living quarters. 

Ivy groaned. She was not looking forward to tonight. Sprig was one of her best friends in the village, she didn't want to break his heart.

"Pst!" She heard a voice from the window and turned to see the creature she had met earlier, with Polly peeking over her shoulder. "Hey Ivy," she waved for her to come closer to the window.

"Hey... Marcy, right? Hey Polly." She turned to face the two of them. Hopefully they could provide some valuable insight. "Do you know what drove Sprig to this?" she asked, half-suspecting spirit magic. 

"It's a misunderstanding," Marcy explained. 

"Hop Pop got carried away," Polly added, rolling her eyes. "There’s a deal where he’ll get access to your family’s seeds."

Marcy nodded, "From what we overheard, sounds like something similar happened over here?" she guessed.

"Yes!" Ivy responded, exasperated. "Mom’s been going on and on about Sprig helping out in the café." She shook her head. "So... Sprig doesn't want to get married?" She felt a profound sense of relief, along with an odd twist in her gut.

"Nope!" Polly responded bluntly, without hesitation. 

"Ah." Well, that’s… good, right?

Marcy gave her an appraising look for a moment. "Yep, but he was nervous about doing anything to stop it," she explained. “He was worried about hurting your feelings." 

Ivy smiled at that, but caught herself and schooled her face into an aloof expression, “Shoulda known. Dork,” she said, trying to act casual.

Marcy grinned. "So, if I had a plan to get you two out of this, would you go along with it?".

"Found it!" Ivy heard her mother call out and started coming downstairs again. 

Ivy returned her attention to Marcy. "Please." she quickly agreed. 

"Got it, I'll fill Sprig in, you just follow his lead." Marcy gave her a thumbs up and ducked below the window sill as Felicia Sundew came back into the room. Ivy did her best to endure being dressed up like a doll. She distracted herself by wondering what plan Marcy had in store. 

---

"Ah, there's Felicia," Hop Pop said. He looked back at Sprig, who waddled along after him in his unwieldy courtship outfit. "Are ya ready, Sprig?" he  asked. Sprig’s transformation was complete; he wore a thick layer of pale makeup that made him look vaguely ill. Sprig gave an awkward thumbs up, and Hop Pop stepped away to greet the Sundews.

As soon as Hop Pop was out of earshot, Sprig turned to Marcy and Polly. "Is everything ready?" 

Marcy gave a thumbs up and felt Polly nod confidently behind her. "Just don’t head in that direction and you should be fine." She pointed to a place where two trees bent to create an archway into the forest.

Sprig nodded, looking reassured. Marcy excused herself when Hop Pop returned. 

“Alright, Sprig, go get that lucrative business- I mean, romantic relationship…” Hop Pop said a greedy grin. “Saved it,” was the last thing Marcy heard as she slunk away. 

With Polly snug in her hood, she hauled herself up onto a low rooftop nearby to get a better view of things. For such a small town, Wartwood had managed to pull together a pretty nice event. There was a big catered table at one end, and enough drinks for everyone. It would have been charming if her friend wasn’t being forced into a marriage against his wishes. 

Ivy and Sprig were introduced as a couple to a crowd of cooing adults. Both looked uncomfortable being the center of attention, which Marcy could relate to. Soon the music started and the would-be couple awkwardly tottered from side to side. 

"Everything’s ready, right?" Polly questioned excitedly.

Marcy nodded, pulling out a few tightly bound packets she had securely wrapped and sealed in leaves. She let out a bird chirp and gave a waving of fingers to alert Sprig, he nodded and whispered something to Ivy. She gave it a couple of seconds, then tossed the two packets into the middle of the crowd. As they made contact they burst open, massive clouds of black smoke bloomed outwards, filling the town square and lingering in the air. Marcy allowed herself a fist pump. The smoke bombs worked perfectly! 

Sprig and Ivy capitalized on the distraction and fled while everyone else coughed and yelled in surprise and confusion. It had worked! They’d successfully slipped away and the ritual was off! It would be months before another party suitable for an engagement could happen. Hopefully by then they could talk some sense into Hop Pop and Felicia - though if everything went to plan, Marcy might have the opportunity to convince them tonight.

"Alright, let's go and lead them off the wrong way," Marcy said, dropping down from the roof and then sprinting through the archway she had pointed out to Sprig earlier. 

---

Hop Pop heaved out a cough as the smoke cleared. He knew of a few monsters that used smoke to distract their prey, but none that lived anywhere near Wartwood. Besides, there would be a lot more screaming by now if any of them were here. The only thing out of place was the missing couple of honor. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Marcy running off with Polly into the forest. 

Felicia saw her too and scowled at Hop Pop. "Hopediah, I swear to frog if that spirit of yours has done something to Ivy it will be your head," she said, before rushing off after Marcy. “Should’ve never dealt with a family ensorcelled.”

Hop Pop frowned, unsure of what Marcy's role in all this was, but knowing that in all likelihood she had good intentions. Half the time she got into trouble it was with good intentions. The other half was because she wasn't paying enough attention. He followed closely behind Felicia; he’d need to be there in either case. 

---

Marcy sprinted through the forest, giddy and excited. This had been the first time she had the chance to deliberately cause mischief since she’d arrived in Amphibia. It was a pretty great feeling, to be honest. 

"I really appreciate you helping us out, by the way," Polly mentioned quietly.

Marcy turned her head slightly as they approached the traps they’d set up. "What do you mean?" She carefully started to weave her way through them; she had put a subtle mark on each of them so she would remember where they were. 

"Adults always try to make kids do things they don't wanna. Hop Pop usually doesn't but when tradition gets into it…" Marcy could feel Polly shake her head in frustration. "So, it's nice that you aren't trying to get Sprig and Ivy together."

Marcy smiled at the sentiment, but did feel the need to clear something up, "Oh, I'm totally trying to get them together." 

"What!?" Polly objected loudly. 

Marcy winced but continued as she neared the end of the gauntlet. "Yeah, I think they would be totally cute together!” she said with a goofy grin. “Childhood friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes!"

"Then- then why aren’t you on their side?" Polly asked, gesturing back towards town. 

Marcy shook her head. “You can't force childhood friends to lovers!” she said, aghast. “Where's the drama? The suspense? They have to figure it out on their own!" Marcy explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Polly considered it for a moment, then sighed. "You know what, I'll take it."  

"Ivy!" called a feminine voice from behind them.

"Sprig, come on out now!" Hop Pop joined. 

Perfect! They had taken the bait. Marcy dove into a bush where they would have a good view of their gauntlet. "Ready to see if our traps worked?" Marcy whispered with excitement. 

"Yeah!" Polly responded in a hushed voice.  Felicia and Hop Pop came into view, wandering unwittingly into their traps. Once they got stuck, maybe they all could have a civil discussion about using their kids for their own selfish ends.

Hop Pop immediately blundered over a trip wire and was swept up into a suspended net Marcy and Polly had set up earlier. “Waaagh!”

Felicia darted forward  to avoid it, stepping onto their pit trap. She started to fall through the facade of leaves and sticks, but quickly split her legs to keep herself from sliding down. A heavy wooden lid, intended to keep her from just jumping out, swung forcefully toward her, but she caught it in one hand and shoved it back as she stepped out of the pit trap. She triggered another tripwire which flung a weighted net sideways at her, but she grabbed up a large tree branch and batted the net aside with a grunt of effort. She stumbled forward, hitting the last trap - one intended to give them time to flee if all else failed. A smoke bomb was lobbed towards her feet, but she bent down and effortlessly caught it between two fingers with such gentleness that it didn't pop. 

Marcy and Polly stared at the display, slack-jawed. Marcy had always wondered what a high level monk would look like in real life. It was terrifying. All the more so when Felicia's eyes set upon their hiding spot with a look of fury. 

"Uh oh." 

“Run!” Polly urged and Marcy dashed out of the bushes, running for her life with Polly in her arms. 

---

Ivy and Sprig ended up near a small pond, and ditched the puffy, uncomfortable clothes in favor of their usual duds. As Sprig pulled his collar off with some help from Ivy, they both let out a sigh of relief and took in the beautiful sight before them. 

A horde of fireflies crowded the pond, milling about in an ever moving light show, constellations forming and collapsing in moments. Sprig sat down to take in the sight. "Wow, this is beautiful, huh, Ivy?" Sprig smiled and looked over to Ivy for agreement, only to find the girl missing. "Ivy?"

"Ambush!" Ivy announced as she plowed into Sprigs back with vengeance. They went tumbling across the ground, and ended up with Ivy standing triumphantly over Sprig, stick in hand. "Ha ha!" 

"Oh no you don't!" Sprig grabbed a nearby branch himself and swiped good naturedly at his longtime sparring partner. The two began to duel, going back and forth, trading strikes without seriously trying to hit each other. It was pretty even right up until Ivy managed to disarm Sprig with a swirl of her branch. He forfeited with an overly dramatic bow and the two fell back to the bank of the pond, out of breath. 

They looked up to the horde of fireflies that had illuminated their duel. 

Sprig spotted a group of purple ones flying by, playfully dipping and diving through the slower yellow fireflies. "Look! Purple ones!"

"Those are babies," Ivy supplied

"Really?" 

"Yeah, I read they glow a different color so their moms can find them easier," Ivy explained, cradling a few fireflies that had come close enough for her to hold. She smiled gently as she sent them away. She looked back at Sprig, grinning softly. 

Sprig felt a weird churning in his stomach, which meant that he should talk. "So, crazy night tonight huh?"

"Yeah, your friend really came through," Ivy said with admiration. 

"Marcy? Yeah, she's pretty cool,” he agreed with a smile. 

"Good thing though, huh?" Ivy said hesitantly. "I mean, it would be weird, right? The two of us... together." She scoffed, but she sounded almost vulnerable behind her cool veneer. 

Sprig felt weird again. He tried to push the feeling down, without much success. "I mean, sure, but if I was forced to marry someone, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather it be," Sprig said.

Ivy looked surprised, but pleased with the answer. "Really?" 

"Sure," Sprig said with a shrug. "I mean, we could hang out whenever we wanted, spar in the living room, forage in the woods for dinner," Sprig listed, counting each thing on his fingers. "Could be worse." Sprig looked back at Ivy and found her smiling fondly at him. Despite all the talking, he still felt that weird feeling. If anything it was getting worse… but it wasn't so bad, he supposed. "But I mean, still, good thing we avoided that."

"Yeah!" Ivy quickly agreed. "... that does sound pretty cool though," she admitted with a shrug. 

"But only if its our choice," Sprig added,

Ivy snapped her fingers and nodded. "Right! Of course."

A silence fell between the two of them, but before it could get uncomfortable, a distant scream carried from across the pond. They both sprung for places to hide before looking to figure out what it was. They saw Marcy sprinting through the forest, Polly held tightly to her chest. A shadow stalked them from the trees, leaping from branch to branch as it hunted them.

"Marcy, Polly!" Sprig said in a hushed terror. 

“C'mon we gotta help them!” Ivy insisted and they both rushed off around the pond.

---

Marcy’s lungs heaved with effort as she sprinted through the woods.  She’d only made it this far thanks to her longer legs. She looked down to Polly. “Did you know she was capable of this?!"

"No!" Polly yelled in terror, "I thought she just made tea!" 

"You won't escape me, spirit!" Felicia shouted after her, twirling a tree branch behind her like a bo staff. 

As she had run, Marcy had started to loop back towards the town. Even if most of the townsfolk wouldn't side with her, having some witnesses would hopefully at least give her some time to explain. She knew she was getting close because she saw Hop Pop hanging from her net trap in the distance. Unfortunately, her foot caught on a raised root. She stumbled to try to catch herself, but a solid kick to her back sent her into a dive. She held Polly up and out in front of her as she slid into the dirt. 

Marcy turned back in fear as Felicia pounced on top of her, placing the tip of her improvised bo staff into the hollow of Marcy's throat. 

“Now Felicia, lets calm down-” Hop Pop tried to diffuse the situation, to little effect. 

“Shut it, Hopediah,” Felicia snapped. She returned furious eyes to Marcy. "Where have you taken my daughter, spirit?"

"Nowhere!" Marcy protested with difficulty. Felicia flicked her wrist and hit Marcy across the cheek with the branch. "Ow!" Marcy managed to say before the staff was back at her throat. 

"You used foul magic to make her disappear!” Felicia’s eyes narrowed with violent intent. “Let me assure you, you're not the first of your kind I've dealt with, so make this easy on yourself!"

"I didn't use any magic!" Marcy complained, then thought better of it. “A little alchemy, but I didn't take her anywhere! The smoke just gave her and Sprig time to escape!" she explained. 

Felicia paused at that, not looking entirely convinced, but also not as confident as before. "Why would she ask you for help? If she really didn't want to go through with all this-"

"She didn't!" Marcy interrupted. She grabbed for the staff to try and wrench it away from her throat. "You just weren't listening to her!" Despite her struggles, Marcy couldn't get any leverage to move the bo staff. “...You are really strong, by the way."

"It's just..." Felicia paused. "...It's what's best for her," she said.

Marcy scowled. “Why do parents always say that like it excuses everything?"

"Marcy," Hop Pop began from above them, "sometimes parents need to make decisions for their kids. They don't know everything yet and need someone to look out for them."

Marcy looked incredulously up towards him. “This is one of those times? You’re sure? Neither of you have ulterior motives?" she asked pointedly. Hop Pop looked away a bit guiltily. She looked back at Felicia, who was starting to waver but held eye contact. "Sometimes parents need to make decisions, I get that, but they shouldn't hide behind that excuse whenever their kid objects to it." Marcy scowled. “If you have a good reason, then explain it. And if you can't, consider that it might not be that good a reason after all."

Felicia frowned thoughtfully as she considered Marcy's words.

"... Mom?" Ivy's voice questioned from the edge of the clearing. Sprig and her both looked at the scene, unsure what to address first.

"Ivy! You're alright?" Felicia tossed her staff aside and went over to hug her. "I thought you had been spirited away." 

Ivy looked embarrassed at the affection, but still sank gratefully into the hug. "Mooom!" she complained half-heartedly. 

Marcy sat up, coughing and rubbing at her throat. Sprig and Polly rushed to her side, checking her for any new scrapes or bruises. 

"Marcy?" Felicia called, getting her attention again. "I'm sorry for kicking you into the mud.” 

Marcy nodded begrudgingly. “It’s okay… I hadn’t considered what that all would have looked like from your perspective," she conceded. 

Felicia nodded. “Well, you gave me a lot to think about, so, thank you for that." 

"Wait, was that you chasing Marcy through the forest?" Ivy said, clearly surprised. “How-”

"Yes, it was. As for how, that can wait till the morning," Felicia assured. "For now, there is still a party going on… even if you’re not getting engaged tonight." 

“We’re not?” Sprig and Ivy asked at the same time. 

“Marcy brought up some good points…” Hop Pop admitted.

Felicia nodded in agreement. “When and who you decide to marry should be your decision to make… if it's one you want to make at all.” 

Ivy hugged her mom again and shot an appreciative look at Marcy. Marcy just nodded, glad everything had resolved relatively peacefully. 

“Yes, we all learned an important lesson today…” Hop Pop said solemnly. “...Now, would someone get me out of this gosh-darned net!?” he demanded. Sprig hopped to it, using a sharp stone to cut the rope and dropping Hop Pop to the forest floor.

They made their way towards Wartwood as a group. Ivy and Felicia took the lead with Hop Pop and Sprig close behind. Marcy carried Polly, trailing behind and watching as Sprig and Ivy traded looks that were definitely more flirtatious than before this whole debacle. 

“Yesss…” Marcy hummed with satisfaction. Bonding over defying authority, worked every time. She looked down at Polly, a little smugly, “So? Can I call it or can I call it?”

Polly groaned. "...I guess," she conceded reluctantly. "Still don't get why you'd go through all this trouble for a... trope?" Polly tried the word as she looked up at Marcy. “What’s the appeal?”

Marcy shrugged with a goofy smile on her face. "I just think it’s really sweet, is all," Marcy admitted happily. "All that history together, those innocent feelings of friendship slowly shifting into something more intimate." She swooned. "The drama of one or both wanting the relationship to change or evolve, but not wanting to risk what they have." She took a slow breath and sighed dreamily. "It's just so romantic, don’t you think?"

"Eh," Polly dismissed, indifferent. 

Marcy understood where she was coming from; she hadn't developed an interest in such stories ‘til middle school, herself. They walked quietly for a little bit, Marcy humming a chiptune to fill the dead air until Polly looked up at her questioningly. 

"Wait, didn't you say the two friends you came here with... Sasha and Anne?" Marcy confirmed that the names were right with a nod. "Right, didn't you say they were your childhood friends?"

"Yes?" Marcy answered, and then rolled her eyes at Polly's raised brow. She could already see the follow up question about to happen. "Sure, but they're both girls Polly," she dismissed. Case closed. No further inquiry needed.

"So?" Polly said, tone unconvinced. "Can two human girls not date?"

"I mean, sure?" Marcy answered, a little awkwardly. "It's uncommon, though."

"Sounds a lot like a deflection to me," Polly needled, clearly pleased she had found something new to tease Marcy with. Marcy’s brain went into overdrive; if she wanted to avoid being bothered about this for the next week, she would need some pretty concrete reasons why she wouldn't date her friends. 

Her mind prioritized the easy one first, even as it scrambled to bury why it considered either option 'easy.'

“Fine.” She conjured an image of Sasha to the front of her mind. Cool confidence and authority incarnate. "Sasha’s pretty, obviously, and cool," she admitted - she wasn't going to put down her friends just to get Polly off her back. "But also pretty intense?” She grimaced. “...She has high expectations for a relationship." The last time Sasha had gone on a date, she had spent the following sleepover detailing every perceived failing and mistake the boy had or made. It had given Marcy secondhand anxiety. "I really don't think I'd be able to keep up." 

Polly nodded, accepting the answer. "Okay. What about Anne?"

An image of Anne came to Marcy, curly brown hair and deep brown eyes. "Anne's… really pretty, too," Marcy admitted slowly, trying to buy time to find some reason she wouldn't be interested in her oldest friend. "She's really friendly too, I've seen her walk into a room with a bunch of strangers and leave having made friends with all of them." Anne's natural social grace had impressed and eluded Marcy ever since Anne had approached her in pre-school. 

"She's generous and kind- and she always listens to me ramble on about this or that. She'd always keep me safe when I wasn't paying attention..." She smiled warmly. Anne's hands grabbing her, pulling her from danger, and catching her whenever she would fall… It was a little embarrassing to be sure, but it always made her feel safe. Cared for. Marcy fell quiet for a few moments, remembering the feeling.

Polly tilted her head up to look at Marcy, a satisfied expression on her face. 

Marcy felt a low level of panic start to thrum in her mind. "B-but that doesn’t mean- I just really appreciate her, what she does for me-" she insisted. "Sure, I love her but not like… like…" she trailed off as a dormant memory floated up to the surface.  

---

Marcy felt herself stir to consciousness, but not in a position she was used to. It certainly wasn't her bed. She would have expected her desk, her last hazy recollection being math class. But now she was upright and… suspended? Her arms were wrapped securely around someone, her head resting on their shoulder. They had their arms looped around Marcy’s legs in a piggyback carry. Marcy felt the steady up and down of walking. 

She blinked blearily into the afternoon sun. It was a spring day in LA, which meant it was already too hot. In front of her she could see Sasha, carrying both her own backpack and Marcy's shoulder bag. From her posture, Marcy guessed she was scrolling through her phone. 

As things came into focus, she realized she was being carried by Anne, who was bent forward so that Marcy wouldn’t fall off. "Mmm," Marcy groaned. 

"Good morning, sleepy head," Anne said with a chuckle. "You doing alright?"

"Yeah... what happened?" Marcy asked groggily.

"You passed out in math," Sasha said over her shoulder. 

"It was kind of a fun reversal, usually I'm the one who’s lights out," Anne added. "Stay up all night?" she guessed. 

"Vagabondia Online... raid exploit discovered…" she droned, recalling the previous night through a haze of bright graphics and energy drinks. "Had to do it... before the patch."

"Toldja it was ‘cause of one of her nerd games," Sasha said blandly, not even looking up from her phone. 

Marcy frowned and looked about; Anne had already carried her several blocks from the school. "I can walk," Marcy asserted. 

"Hmmm," Anne considered the statement. "Nah, disagree," she said, hoisting Marcy up slightly to get a better grip. 

"Anne, seriously," Marcy protested weakly, "You can let me down."

"Dude, you've been out of it all day," Anne said seriously, "I can’t even count the number of times I had to pull you out of danger." She looked back at Marcy with a friendly smile. “Besides, this is good strength training or whatever. So, really, you're doing me a favor."

Marcy knew it was an excuse, so that she didn't feel bad, but she didn’t have the will to fight it. She had managed to stay awake so far, but it was a struggle.

"Just relax, Mar-Mar, I've got you," Anne assured quietly. “I’ll wake you when we get to your house.”

So she did; she let her head nestle into the nest of Anne's hair, hiding away from the sunlight as best she could. She took comfort in Anne's touch, in the steady pace she used to not jostle Marcy too much. Marcy breathed in a deep breath through her nose, feeling more at home at that moment then she did anywhere else.

Then she drifted back to sleep. 

---

Soft light lit up Wartwood’s town square. Dozens of frogs milled about, eating, drinking and dancing in equal measure. The night was warm and humid, with the folksy music mixing with the sounds of far off bugs in the forest. Felicia and Hop Pop conversed pleasantly on one end of the party while Sprig and Ivy ran about through the crowd together.

Marcy had come to a slow stop at the edge of the activities beneath the arched branches she had fled through earlier. Polly still sat snug in her arms, but the pollywog’s teasing expression had shifted to one of gentle worry as Marcy’s silence stretched on longer and longer. 

Marcy, for her part, felt warm and flushed, and she was suddenly acutely aware of her elevated heart rate. Her stomach knotted into a combination of nervous excitement and dread. Her mind swam with memories of Anne, each taking on new light and context.

Marcy tried to speak, but her voice caught in her throat. She swallowed hard to clear it, only to let out a single, soft tone.  

"Oh."

Art by @mituni-art [ Tumblr ]

Notes:

12/7/23 UPDATE: Chapter Betaread by Sonar009

Yes! Finally can stop feeling bad about the Marcy/Anne tag!

Man this chapter was so much fun to write. Originally I was mostly excited to the Marcanne scene at the end. It was one of the scenes that originally motivated me to start this whole AU. But once I got to the confrontation with HP and Felicia I realized 'Oh wait, Marcy would have Very strong opinions about parents making unilateral decisions for their kids.'. So that was a fun moment to unearth. 

In other news, for posterity Escape to Amphibia was just released and I am psyched to see where this is all going to end. 

As always thank you everyone for leaving comments and kudos. It does wonders for the motivation to know there are folks interested. 

See you all next Sunday where we'll get a brief break from Marcy being our main POV.

Also, this thought came to me while editing this chapter and I have to share it. 

Shipping Styles
Anne, clicking dolls together: Now kissssss
Marcy, slamming her open palm on a conspiracy board: No, you don't understand, if I break up their engagement they'll be closer than ever!

Chapter 8: Sasha at the Gates

Summary:

Sasha arrives in a beautiful fantasy city!

- Marcy's Journal -

Day 36 in Amphibia,

Well, I met another of Sprig’s friends today. He’s really bad at recognizing who cares for him. I broke up their arranged wedding and my smoke bombs were a success! But other than that there weren't any big events or revelations to make note of. 

I've also figured out a fun cipher to use for my journal. Lots of wizards encode their notes in fiction, and I thought it would be fun to design one of my own. To test it out I'm gonna use it to write out my morning routine. 

[The following section of the journal has been decoded for the convenience of the reader.]

Oh god, I have a crush on Anne. I HAVE A CRUSH ON ANNE. This is so bad! I can't get her out of my head. I filled a page front and back full of doodles of her and I had to rip it out cause what if she sees it!? What am I supposed to say? ‘I was thinking about you and had to draw you a dozen-and-a-half times?’ 

What am I supposed to say when I see her again? I was getting flustered just looking at a picture of her earlier, what will it be like in person? What if she gets creeped out? Should I just pretend everything's normal? But we’ve been all touchy-feely since we were kids, is it alright to keep doing that now? Will she suspect something if I suddenly stop?

I wish Sasha were here. She'd know what to do.

---

Day 1

Sasha tried to blink the spots out of her eyes as the music started to fade. Whoever made that music box certainly didn't hold back on the spectacle. Did they install a spotlight in that thing? She blindly pawed at the stone below her as she waited for her sight to return. 

…Wait, stone?

As her vision started to clear up, she realized that the grass and dirt of the playground were nowhere to be found. It wasn’t asphalt or cement, either, it was carefully laid masonry. "Marcy, what the hell just-" she looked around for her friends but found no sign of them; instead, she was surrounded by buildings that looked like they had been decorated by a low tide. Coral and starfish hung loosely from the walls and roofs. "What- where the-?" She paused as she turned around. She stood at the top of a massive staircase, which overlooked an entire city. More stone buildings dotted the cityscape, covered in similar formations of coral. Larger buildings shaped like - or built from - giant mushrooms dotted the skyline, which led her eye to a massive castle that dwarfed the rest of the city. 

It was a sight ripped straight out of some dorky children's book.

Sasha rubbed furiously at her eyes, as if she would start seeing something different if she put enough effort into it. When that failed, she turned around to look down the road. Nothing in that direction made any more sense.

Weird, lizard-like creatures bustled up and down the road. They walked on two feet and wore clothes that ran the gamut from medieval peasantry to Victorian dresses. Some of it might even look nice if it were on actual people. The street was dotted by shops and stalls and everyone was going about their business like it was the most normal thing in the world. 

This must be some hallucination. Some long-trapped mold in the box must have been released when Anne opened it. I just have to remain calm and-  

"Are you okay, there?" Sasha felt a hand touch her side and whirled around, knocking it away. The offender, a stooped shopkeeper with bushy gray hair, fell hard on the ground. "Oof!" A pair of younger-looking lizard creatures ran forward to help them back to their feet.

Sasha felt the eyes of the crowd settle on her. 

"Who is that?"

"More like, what is that?"

"Weird, is what it is."

"Nice hair, though."

Sasha backed towards an alley. Her eyes darted to a couple of taller lizards as they shouldered their way through the crowd. They may have been dressed in cloaks and armor, but cops looked the same no matter where she was. I am not going to be locked away wherever the hell this is.  

---

Day 3

Ben Spar whistled to himself as he walked home from work. He had done good work at his new job, and even earned a compliment from his boss. It was doing wonders for his self confidence. He used to have a crippling phobia of going outside, but after his father had the accident he stepped up and found a job at the local instrument shop. He had a knack for carving instruments and helping others find the right one for them, and he was finally feeling like his life was getting on the right track. As he walked home with a bag full of groceries bought with his first paycheck, he felt himself relax. Maybe the world isn’t as scary as I thought.

It was at this moment that he was seized and pulled roughly into an alleyway. His back slammed into the wall, and his groceries spilled from his arms to scatter across the stonework. As he desperately tried to get his bearings, he found himself face-to-face with a creature whose hair shone bright yellow, like sunlight. It wore wrinkled clothing and its eyes bored into his, bright blue and cold as stone. "P-please don't hurt me!"

"Shut up," the creature hissed through gritted teeth. "Listen, you're going to answer my questions and then I'm going to leave you alone. Got it?" 

Ben nodded. 

"Where are we?"

He looked back towards the street. "I think we're on Bent Tree Boulevard?" He shook his head. "Listen, if you need directions, I'm really the last-" 

His captor gave him a look and he stopped speaking. It took a breath. "Not the street, where is-" it gestured vaguely around them, "-all this?"

"Newtopia?” he tried. The creature gave him a blank stare; he found his eyes gravitating unwillingly to the strange growth on its face. “Amphibia?" It gestured for him to elaborate further. "The- Newtopia is the city, Amphibia is the world?" 

It nodded. "Okay, now we're getting somewhere. How do I leave?"

"Well- I mean, the gate's that way, and-" 

The creature’s grip on his shoulders tightened and it lifted him off the ground. His feet dangled uncomfortably in the air below him as it leaned in closer to speak. "No, not this city, this weird goofy-ass world! How do I get home?"

Ben tried to muster a response, but all he managed was a frightened squeak.

---

Sasha gave the lizard-guy a shake in the hopes that it would jostle him back into being useful, but he just whimpered in response. As she was trying to figure out what to do next, she spotted two cloaked figures appear at the end of the alleyway. 

One of them pointed at her. "It's the creature!" 

Sasha swore and hurled her unhelpful guide at the two to buy herself some time, then sprinted down the alley. She had gotten pretty adept at avoiding them over the past few days, but something had changed. From behind her, she heard three shrill calls from a bugle horn. As she darted in and around streets, she saw more of the city guard rallying to the call, cutting off potential escape routes. 

She looked for some grate to dive down, or barrel to hide in, but there were too many guards and she couldn’t get out of sight. Slowly but surely, she was being corralled. She sprinted into a market square, hoping to lose them in the crowd, but she was instead met by a squadron of the guard. The market was almost entirely cleared of civilians. 

Standing at the center of the group was a red lizard with fierce, focused eyes, short, spiky blonde hair, and a satisfied smile full of razor-sharp teeth. She didn't wear the same cloak as the guards, and instead had a set of gleaming armor festooned with a collection of medals. 

"Ah, creature, so good of you to show up." She flexed her wrist, and two razor sharp blades sprung out. "You led us on a good chase, but you have been cornered by me, General Yunan! Scourge of the Sand Wars…” she struck a dramatic pose, “…Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched…” she struck another, different pose, “…and the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of general in the great Newtopian Army!"

Sasha grit her teeth. They were newts? They were newts and they named their city Newt-opia!? Ugh, how is this my life right now?  

"The king would like to have a word with you," Yunan declared. She held out a hand as if to accept Sasha's surrender.

Sasha turned to double back into the alleyway she’d emerged from, only to find a guard blocking the entrance. A quick glance around showed that the other alleys were similarly cut off. She looked down the road opposite the market place; a few guards stood in the way, but it was a wide road, and just the hole in the net Sasha was looking for. 

Sasha sprinted headlong at the two newts, angling to slip between them. At the last possible moment, she pivoted to slam into one of them, shoulder-first. The newt was so surprised by her sudden charge that he failed to bring his spear to bear in time. Sasha grabbed the shaft of the weapon and used her momentum to tear it away from him, then clocked him upside the head with the butt of the spear and bolted past him, away from the mass of guards. 

"After her!" Yunan called out. Sasha scrambled to form some kind of plan. She had been able to get by for the last couple of days, but clearly they were hellbent on her capture at this point. Realizing she was running towards the city walls, she decided to make that her goal. A crossbow bolt whizzed overhead and she ducked to the right to break line of sight. 

As she ran, she heard the sounds of city life ahead of her grow louder - speech, footsteps, and the creaking of wagon wheels. Even as the guards turned the corner to catch up with her, they couldn't take any more pot shots at her without risking hitting civilians. Eyes were drawn to Sasha and the chase, but most took it as a reason to get the hell out of her way, so that worked out just fine.

Sasha had avoided the city’s largest thoroughfare for the past few days. There were too many people and too many guards. The massive street wound its way through the entire city, from the main gate all the way up to the castle on a gentle, persistent slope. At the bottom of the hill, the massive gate was cracked open to allow carts into the city. Her eyes caught on a wagon on the side of the road that had been left nearly unattended, a wooden stopper in place to keep it from rolling downhill. She ran to it, kicked out the stopper, and gave the cart a solid shove before clambering into the wagon herself. 

It started to roll downhill. A few of the locals briefly tried to halt its progress, but with a point of Sasha’s spear they backed off. She looked behind her to see the newt guards swarming out onto the main road, but she was going much too fast to stop now. Bystanders dove out of the way, and those driving wagons uphill wrenched them to the side to clear a path. Sasha felt the rush of wind on her face and saw the world beyond the walls through a crack in the gate. Just a little further…

Sasha heard the bugle horn from earlier again; five shrill tones carried over the shouting of the crowd. Moments later, the city gate started to close. Even with all the speed she had built up, there was no way she was going to make it through in time. She looked around for anything she could use to dismount safely and found a folded up tarp laying in the bottom of the wagon. She tied the corners to the shaft of her stolen spear, then held it aloft. As the tarp caught the rushing wind, she jumped, allowing the cart to rush out from underneath her.

The hastily tied knots quickly came undone as the tarp was buffeted by the wind, but her makeshift parachute managed to turn a potentially bone-crushing impact into a chaotic tumble along the street’s well-worn stones. She eventually rolled to a halt; she was going to be sore tomorrow, but nothing felt broken. She heard a crash accompanied by the sound of splintering wood as the runaway wagon slammed into the gate at full speed. 

Sasha forced herself to her feet and looked over her shoulder. Her stunt had caused plenty of chaos, and the street full of citizens had become a panicky mob, but blue-cloaked guards wearing grim expressions were already pushing their way through the crowd as they pursued her. Still, she’d managed to buy some time; she quickly surveyed her surroundings for a new escape route. 

Sasha stood in a large, circular thoroughfare directly in front of the gate. The gate itself towered overhead, several stories tall and made of solid metal. Way too heavy to force open. However, the gate was also flanked by a pair of watchtowers with doors of their own; the one on her left flew open, and a pair of guards ran out towards her. Sasha tightened her grip on the spear and rushed directly towards them. They stumbled to a halt, confused, and warily drew their swords. Sasha smirked; right before she was in their reach, she thrust the head of the spear into a crack in the stonework and vaulted over their heads. She landed smoothly behind them and sprinted for the still-open door. 

She slammed it shut behind her and threw a big wooden latch in place to lock it. There was a muted thump as something impacted the other side, followed by the pounding of fists. "See you later, suckers!" Before they could respond, she turned on her heel and started up the spiral stairs, taking two at a time. By the time she reached the top, her legs burned and her heart hammered in her chest. She leaned heavily against the battlements to catch her breath. After a few moments, a chill breeze passed over her, stinging her lungs with the taste of salt. She looked up and was mesmerized by what she saw. 

From the top of the city walls she could see the surrounding landscape. The city was built within the shallows of a vast lake which stretched to the horizon. Just past the water's edge were green hills filled with old-growth trees. The sun glinted off of the smooth sheen of the lake. Sasha hadn’t wanted to believe it, but she finally started to accept that she was far, far from home. 

There was a large, horizontal crank that she guessed controlled the gate. Not much use to me, now… even if I could get it open, I’m not gonna be able to fight through the horde of guards down below. She craned her neck to look down over the edge of the wall. Can I jump? Doubt it, even if the water’s deep enough, hitting it from this high is a no-go…

As she weighed bad options against each other, she heard an odd scraping sound from behind her. She turned back to see the red newt from earlier using her metal claws to haul herself over the side of the inner wall. 

"You have got to be kidding me," Sasha said, shaking her head in disbelief. She moved to put the gate wheel between them defensively. 

"You have been formidable prey, creature, but you are prey all the same." Yunan leaned forward, gauntlet blades extended as they circled around the gate wheel. "I should thank you, though. This was a great reminder of why I shouldn't work with others." With a flick of her wrist she clawed straight through one of the wheel's spokes. "They only slow me down!"

Sasha kept a wary eye on the newt as she tried to think of a way out of this. "Am I really worth all this trouble?" she asked, hoping to buy time. She spotted a bumpy red material crawling over the lip of the battlements. 

Yunan gave a mock-apologetic shrug. "That's not for me to decide. The king wants an audience with you, and I follow orders," she stated simply.

Sasha continued circling until her back was to the red material. She just needed the thing to be distracted for a moment. "Well, can I at least get your name? I missed it the first time around."

Yunan breathed through her nostrils and, to Sasha's surprise, complied. "Then listen well, creature. For your captor is General Yunan!" She posed dramatically and Sasha immediately turned on her heel and booked it. "Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched-" Sasha arrived at the edge of the battlements and looked down. Just like she hoped, a massive piece of coral grew up the side of the walls, leading straight to freedom. "-and the youngest- Hey!" 

Sasha looked back to Yunan and gave her a quick two-finger salute before jumping down the thick red coral branches. Years of gymnastics and cheer served her well as she nimbly navigated her way towards the lake. Halfway down, she looked up and saw that that crazy newt was still after her. She double-timed it and leapt down to land on a sturdy-looking branch, but as she made contact, it snapped underfoot. She just barely managed to snag another branch on the way down, but the sharp edge dug into her hand and she reflexively let go, dropping the rest of the way.

Fortunately, she was far enough down by that point to survive the fall. She cringed as the salt water seeped into her clothes and the open wound on her hand. She stood up in the water and took a few steadying breaths as she cradled her injured hand before she looked up to Yunan with a mocking grin. The newt returned her gaze with wide-eyed worry, which only made her smile wider. 

But no… she wasn't worried that Sasha had escaped. Her eyes were searching the waters for something.

Sasha surveyed her surroundings. She was definitely in a deeper part of the pool; the water reached up to her waist. She heard a splash behind her and whirled around, but all she could see were the ripples of something that had passed by. 

She heard something breach the water’s surface behind her and twisted around, where she was confronted by a massive purple sea serpent. It hissed loudly, then its fanged jaws split wide open and it lunged forward in an attempt to swallow her whole. In the half a moment Sasha had to react, she lifted one foot and slammed it into the bottom of the monster’s mouth while her hands surged upward to brace against the top of its jaw, keeping it pried open. The momentum of the creature did not abate, and Sasha felt her remaining foot lifted off as the creature started to carry her through the water towards a sand bank. 

Every muscle in her body strained to keep the jaw pried open. She fought to keep her hands from slipping, to keep her footing despite the rushing water. When she felt her body start to bend she growled and pushed harder, stubbornly refusing to give an inch. She strained further to try and break the thing's jaw, but she just wasn't tall enough. 

The serpent coiled around itself and angled its mouth into the air, trying to let gravity do what the rest of its efforts couldn't. Sasha hung in the creature's jaw, looking down its gross, fleshy throat with disdain. She could feel it try to open its jaw wider to cause her to fall in, and Sasha could feel her arms and legs shake with exhaustion. 

Then, a rattling hiss was released from the creature's throat, quickly followed by a spray of blood. Sasha suddenly felt the world tilt sideways as the creature fell on its side. As it hit the sand Sasha was shaken loose from its jaw, and she tumbled into the nearby water. The water quickly became muddied by the kicked up sand and blood. She scrambled to prop herself up on her knees and looked up to see Yunan standing over her, claws still dripping with crimson liquid.

Sasha felt her chest heave with exertion as she fought to catch her breath. Every part of her felt bone-tired. Her heart pounded with adrenaline and her throat burned with the taste of salt water.

"I don't suppose…" Sasha panted, "…you would mind introducing yourself a third time, would you?"

---

Sasha trudged along as Yunan led her through the halls of the castle by her bound hands. The walk had been so long that she’d nearly dried off. Her skirt, made stiff by the remnants of the salt water, rubbed unpleasantly against her knees. She did her best to take in her surroundings as she was dragged past the opulent decorations. Everywhere she looked, she could see some kind of vase, tapestry, mural, or statue. She might have been better able to appreciate it if she weren’t dead on her feet. Part of her hoped this meeting would be swift and she would be thrown into a dungeon quickly just so she could get some sleep. This day had been a total wash. 

She tested her bindings again, but she had no leverage to work with, and the rubbing was only chafing her wrists. "Did you have to do these so tight?"

"I always tie them that tight," Yunan explained testily. "Besides, I’m not taking risks with you."

Sasha scowled as she looked up at the newt. "Why me specifically?"

"You outran a quarter of the city guard, including me, in a foot chase, scaled the walls of Newtopia without anyone laying a hand on you, and then survived the crushing weight of a serpent’s bite using only your raw strength." Yunan looked back at her with an odd mixture of contempt and admiration. "To take any fewer precautions with your transportation would be an insult."

Sasha blinked, unsure how to respond to that.

After what felt like an eternity of snaking through the stairs, halls, stairs, corridors, and stairs, they finally arrived at a pair of large doors that were made of stained glass framed in bronze. The center of each door was decorated with a large, bronze amphibian foot that Sasha gathered was some kind of emblem of the kingdom. Newts in full suits of armor flanked each doorway. Sasha had thought they were empty until one had sneezed as she passed it. 

The guards pulled open the doors to the chamber and Sasha stumbled to a halt. The hall was massive, surrounded on all sides by pillars of stone with great snakes coiled around them. At the end of the hall were a number of newts poring over books and unfurled scrolls, but that wasn't what caught her attention. No, they were just helpful for scale. Dominating the space was a titanic newt sitting upon a throne of bronze, thrice and a half the height of the tallest newt next to him. 

He had a great beard and blue skin. He wore a mixture of fine clothes and clearly battle-worn armor, with a large gouge over his chest. A crown carved from bone sat upon his head. 

So you’re the one who calls the shots here.

Yunan pushed Sasha forward and walked her to the foot of the throne. Sasha glared up defiantly. She may not have gotten away, but she wasn't about to grovel in front of anyone. 

"Sire, I have brought you the creature!" Yunan announced with a flourish.

Sasha felt everyone’s eyes settle on her, but she refused to relent, keeping her gaze focused squarely on the king. 

"Well done, general. You never disappoint." The king nodded in appreciation before the weight of his attention settled on Sasha. “Hello there,” he said. His voice was remarkably casual, and he waved his hand broadly as he spoke. "I hear you’ve caused something of a ruckus in my city," he commented neutrally. 

"Well, I was being hunted in the streets," Sasha responded flippantly. "Besides, I was trying to leave."

The king chuckled. "Do you often leave cities by driving wagons recklessly through crowds of civilians?"

Sasha thought back to a few days prior, when she and Anne rode a shopping cart downhill through the park at speed. "No, I usually do that for fun," she said with a smirk. "I’m Sasha, by the way. Sasha Waybright. Who are you?"

"You don't know?" the large newt asked, curiosity piqued. 

"I'm new around here," Sasha said with a shrug. The king’s eyes sharpened from idle amusement to an intense focus. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

He gave a nod to Yunan, who proudly stepped forward and gestured grandly to the king. "You are in the presence of King Andrias, first of his name, keeper of one thousand years of peace, and ruler of all of Amphibia." 

"Amphibia… like this world?" Andrias nodded, an amused smile on his face. "You’re king of this whole world?" Sasha asked in disbelief. 

"Yes… but tell me, what do you mean when you say 'this' world?" he asked. His eyes betrayed his casual tone. 

"As in not my world. Earth," Sasha elaborated. "Toldja, I'm new."

The king’s advisors gave him odd looks, but he paid them little mind. "Then how did you end up here, Sasha?" 

"No idea. I was just trying to get my friend to loosen up, we found this weird box and bam, I'm stuck here and they're… somewhere else," she said, breaking eye contact for the first time. She took a slow breath and pushed down the worry she felt deep inside. This world was clearly dangerous, and her friends were stuck somewhere without her. 

"That must have been overwhelming. A new city, a new world. All alone…" the king led on, and as Sasha reestablished eye contact, he gave the slightest raise of an eyebrow. "It could make someone desperate," his mannerisms shifted, suddenly sounding like a worried teacher who was overly invested in their students' home life. 

Sasha paused; he was giving her an opening. Some eyes were already looking at her sympathetically. Alright, sure. Let’s play ball. She allowed a small quaver to enter her voice, "I… I just wanted to find my friends," she took a sharp breath like she was just barely able to choke back a sob. "I didn't- I didn't mean for things to get so out of hand…" She shut her eyes tight and dipped her head like she was just barely holding back tears. "I- I'm so- sor-" 

"Oh, dear." Andrias looked about, as if he was just noticing the audience to their show. "Please, everyone, can we clear the room? This must be overwhelming for her."

The guards bowed and left quickly. Most of the courtiers did too, giving Sasha sympathetic looks as they left. A particularly short one shot Yunan an oddly pointed look. 

The general herself looked suspiciously down at Sasha, but didn't object, turning and leaving with the shorter newt. 

Soon the room was empty save for her and the king of the world. "So," Sasha's voice returned to normal. “They buy this whole act?" she said, gesturing around the throne room. 

"Most do. Those who don’t are wise enough to stay quiet,” he said with a smirk. “You didn't buy it, though?" he asked conspiratorially.

"It threw me off at first, but your eyes gave you away," Sasha said with a shrug. "So. What do you actually want?"

"The box that you mentioned before. Did it have three gems on it?" Andrias asked, direct and to the point.

"What's it to you?" Sasha asked carefully.

"That box is an artifact that belongs to my family. It was taken from me long ago, and I would like it returned." He spread his arms wide and held his hands open, as if he had nothing to hide. "You don't have it stashed somewhere in the city, do you?" 

Sasha tilted her head. "If I did, what would you give me for it?"

The king chuckled, neither insulted nor surprised by her response. "That depends, Sasha Waybright of Earth. What do you want, exactly?"

"To find my friends and get us all home," Sasha stated clearly.

Andrias nodded. "Certainly doable. Do you have the box here in Newtopia?" 

"…No, but my friend Anne probably does. She was the one holding it before-" she looked around at the heavily-ornamented walls and floor, "-this all happened." 

"Then our interests align," Andrias said with a smile. "I will provide you with the supplies, training, and authority you will need to find them; you will deliver the box to me. As one of my agents, you will have the authority to seek them unimpeded. You will take on missions for the kingdom as cover, which will allow you to scour all of Amphibia.” He gestured lazily out the window. “Periodically, you will return to Newtopia to give 'reports-’" he framed the word in air quotes, "-and I'll feed you any news I've been able to gather on my end. Plus, I'll keep an eye out here and house any of your friends that might show up while you're out."

Sasha paused. It was a good deal. A little too good, really. "Why use me? If you want the thing so bad why not send out your… knights? Or…?" she grasped for whatever goofy words Marcy's games used, "…vassals?"

"Well, for one, you're personally motivated to get the job done,” he said seriously. “But more importantly, if I charge the kingdom with finding it, then there will be a struggle over who delivers it to me. I don't want a dozen squabbling aristocrats to lose the dang thing trying to win my favor. Or worse, break it." His voice took on an edge at the word. Then he brightened and favored her with a sly smile. “…But if I outfit you to find your friends, they'll think it's some eccentric whim of mine, and think nothing of it,” he explained. "You bring me the box, I'll send you all home, and we all get what we want… So what do you think? Do we have a deal?"

Sasha considered the offer. He was clearly hiding something about the box; it had to be powerful if it had brought them to a new world. So clearly he had a lot to gain here, but then again, what he did with the box mattered little to Sasha. As long as she and her friends got home safe, she didn't really care what he did with the thing after.

"If you don’t like it, you could always wait for your friends here…” he started casually before his voice took on a dangerous edge, "…in the dungeon."

Sasha smirked. He may want the box, but he wasn't going to be jerked around. She could respect that. “It's a deal… So, what’s this ‘training’ look like?”

---

Day 8

Sasha grunted as her back hit the sand, her leg swept out from under her by a tail, again. She tried to scramble to her feet, but was stopped by the point of a wooden sword at her throat. She glared up at General Yunan, who looked back with disappointed resignation. Yunan had traded her shiny metal armor for a simple training tunic and pants. 

"Ugh, come on! Can't you let up just a little?" Sasha complained. She had been getting better; compared to the first day she was spending significantly less time running after her practice spear. She’d even had some success sparring with the other trainees in the castle, but Yunan always gave her a reality check. 

"Do you think a real opponent is ever going to 'let up' on you? That they'll fight fair?" Yunan asked skeptically. Sasha glared at her and Yunan rolled her eyes, "Listen, I like this situation about as much as you do. But I'm not going to return your corpse to the king because I rushed your training. Until you can land a hit on me, you're stuck here."

Sasha blew out a harsh breath through her nostrils. "Fine." She tried to stand up, but her sore muscles refused to cooperate and she tripped over herself. Yunan caught her by the collar to keep her from falling. 

Sasha cursed and staggered to her feet, embarrassed. "I'm fine, you didn't need to catch me." 

Yunan just shook her head. "Let’s take a break, shall we?" she said and walked away. 

Sasha fumed and her grip tightened reflexively on her spear; in a moment of rage, she lunged forward, intending to drive the wooden practice spear into Yunan’s back. A hit’s a hit, right? At the last second, Yunan sidestepped the stab, pinning the shaft of Sasha's spear between her arm and side. She twisted her torso and flung Sasha bodily across the courtyard like it was nothing. 

Sasha recovered enough to try to read Yunan's face, expecting indignation and a lecture about honorable conduct. Instead, Yunan just looked unimpressed. “Smart idea, sloppy execution,” she assessed. She turned her back to Sasha again and walked the rest of the way to their rest area at the side of the courtyard. She tossed both Sasha's 'spear' and her own 'sword' into a barrel before pouring a glass of water for herself. 

Sasha, too tired and thirsty to argue, followed suit. As much as it frustrated her to still be stuck in the castle, training wasn’t so bad. It was the first time since she was a kid that she’d been allowed to hit someone without getting suspended. Here it was even being encouraged! But she couldn't for the life of her get a read on the general.

Yunan was completely unyielding. Nothing Sasha did, short of improvement, seemed to net a favorable opinion in her eyes. Yunan didn't seem to want anything and any attempt to get her to loosen up was an utter failure. Flattery got a response - she had a huge ego - but it only seemed to motivate her to redouble their training efforts. She didn't seem to have any friends, secrets, or vices that Sasha could leverage. It was like trying to manipulate a statue that could kick her ass.

Andrias had certainly been clever in his choice of who to keep an eye on her. At least she had a comfortable bed to rest her battered body in at the end of the day. 

From a corner of the courtyard, the rusty hinges of a door let out a squeal. One of the city guards held open the door while another very short newt stepped out. Sasha recognized her as one of Andrias’ advisors. She was dressed in the fine clothes of the nobles, ocean waves sewn into the bottom of her dress. She wore her hair up properly with a seashell hair tie. She walked with elegant purpose over to their little corner of the courtyard.

"You invite company?" Sasha asked Yunan, who had just poured water over her head.

Yunan looked out to where Sasha gestured and her attitude suddenly shifted. She stood up straighter, grabbing a towel to wipe herself off with. She stepped forward, posturing as if she wasn't in sweat-stained training clothes. "Lady Olivia! A pleasure to see you. What brings you out here today?"

"General Yunan," Olivia greeted. "I came here to see if you might be available for tea,” she said with a small smile. “It’s been so long since you've been in the city for more than a few days, I would hate to miss the opportunity to hear tales of your exploits from your own mouth."

"Ah, well, certainly I would love to join you…” She glanced towards Sasha, who gave a wave with a waggle of her fingers. 

"I wouldn't mind if you brought your apprentice," Olivia assured, giving a friendly nod to Sasha. "I hope your accommodations have agreed with you, Master Sasha?"

"They have been more than enough, Lady Olivia," Sasha said, giving her best attempt at a courtly bow. Her room really was nice; she was going to hate leaving it when they set out. "Do I have you to thank for that?"

"As the king's head advisor, it does fall to me to handle any small details that might slip his more…” her eyes darted to the side, “…impulsive decisions.”

"I appreciate it. The flowers were a nice touch."

"Well, thank you. It's always nice to meet someone who can appreciate the small details." Olivia gave a nod, clearly pleased. 

Yunan squinted at Sasha in bafflement. It took all of Sasha's years of practice holding a poker face to not break out laughing. 

"In any case, I will leave you both to your training, and will see you tomorrow at tea time," Olivia said, giving a small curtsy in goodbye. 

"Ah… right. A pleasure, Lady Olivia," Yunan said quickly, returning the curtsy with a bow before Olivia left. Once the Lady and her guards had departed, Yunan whirled on Sasha. "What was that?"

"A pleasant conversation?" Sasha suggested with a shrug. 

Yunan glared at her suspiciously before shaking her head and stomping over to the barrel that held their training weapons. "You might have the rest of this castle fooled, even the king, but don't think for a second you'll trick me.” She tossed Sasha her spear, and they returned to training. 

Sasha bided her time, focusing on defense and evasion for once. Once they’d settled into a groove, she made her play. "So, Lady Olivia. How do you know her?"

"I once served as her guard," Yunan said simply, attempting to dash in. Sasha deflected her with a quick flourish. 

"I see…" Sasha said, taking a few jabs at Yunan. "Was that before-" she stepped back out of the arc of a swing, "-or after you fell in love with her?" 

Yunan's ever-flowing battle stance stumbled for a moment as her pink skin flushed an even deeper shade of red. "I- wha-?"

Sasha pounced, rearing back and stabbing straight at Yunan's chest. The newt tried to evade, but her momentum was off, and before she could bring her blade around to parry, Sasha struck true, knocking the wind out of the general. Yunan staggered backwards and took a knee, gasping for air. 

Sasha breathed heavily, a look of triumph on her face. 

The general took a few moments to catch her breath as she maintained eye contact with Sasha. “You… abused an opportunity made by no honest effort."

"So? Since when do enemies 'fight fair?’" Sasha asked in a mocking tone. 

After a moment, Yunan steadied her breath and regained her footing. Her glare shifted into a wide-mouthed, toothy grin as she let out a chuckle. "We'll set out in two days." 

----

Day 16

Sasha was really enjoying her new duds. The fur lining on the arm guards and cloak kept her warm, and her tall boots kept her feet dry and fit beautifully. What she most appreciated right now, however, was the steel breastplate, which was quite adept at deflecting the odd swing that got too close for comfort.

Sasha and Yunan fought back-to-back amidst a group of bandits. A small town on the northern frontier had called for help, and they had understated, or perhaps underestimated, the severity of the threat. She and Yunan had already neutralized a number of the toads and frogs, who came at them with shabby little knives and blunted blades. The group of fifteen had been whittled down to six. Those remaining were either more skilled or more cautious than their fellows, who lay injured around the clearing.

"Still think my training was overboard?" Yunan jeered, catching a blade between her claws and tearing it from a bandit's hand before headbutting him. 

A toad rushed forward to take a swing at Sasha with a club, only to be met with a steel-plated boot to the face. "I don't know-" Sasha grinned, "-this all might be a bit too easy, now!"

Two of the remaining four bandits seemed to think better of it and fled their own ambush. Sasha and Yunan swiftly dealt with the remaining two, who were either too focused or too oblivious to notice their allies’ departure. It took about half an hour for Sasha and Yunan to catch up to the two who had run away. Once their targets were rounded up and bound to a daisy chain of rope, Yunan and Sasha returned to the town that had called upon them. 

The town all gathered around to gawk at them as they returned. The crowd was mostly made up of frogs and toads. Sasha felt uncomfortable with the short creatures. Newts at least were mostly Sasha’s height, but it was unsettling seeing someone with one foot in the grave that was proportioned like a toddler.

A well-fed toad came forward, wearing finery most of the others were lacking. “She did it! Three cheers for General Yunan and her weird pet!" 

Sasha got red in the face, but before she could lash out, Yunan put a hand on her shoulder, holding the other up to silence the cheers before they could begin. "This is my lieutenant, Sasha Waybright, and you will address her as such."

The frogs all looked back at the well dressed toad, who just shrugged without much care. “Three cheers for General Yunan and Lieutenant Waybright, then!" This time Yunan allowed the crowd to cheer in earnest. 

Sasha nodded, satisfied. She smiled up at Yunan. "Lieutenant, huh?"

"I'm not going to have anyone countermanding my orders because you don't hold rank," Yunan said with a noncommittal shrug. Then she ruffled Sasha's hair. “You’ll have to earn any others, though." Sasha slapped her hand away and shot her a death glare. Yunan chuckled as she backed off, taking Sasha's rope of prisoners. "I'll handle the mayor, you go ahead," she said, nodding towards the milling crowd of townsfolk. 

Sasha rolled her eyes and fixed her hair. Then she took in a slow breath before approaching the crowd of frogs. Aside from their annoying folksy accents, they were mostly pretty cooperative. She took out her photo of Anne, Marcy, and herself and started showing it around. In between comments insisting how strange Sasha and her friends looked, they all insisted that no one had seen anything like them around aside from Sasha. 

After talking to half a dozen people she sighed and pulled out a map of Amphibia along with a little red sharpie. She drew a small 'X' on the parchment, the third so far, and groaned at the swaths of empty land left. She looked back at her picture pensively for a moment, then carefully tucked the map and photo back into a pouch she wore around her neck. “Don’t worry girls. I’ll find you…”

Notes:

Art commissioned from themissakat! They have a lot of great Amphibia art and fic as well. Check em out if you haven't!

1/4/24 UPDATE: Chapter Betaread by Sonar009

Man, I didn't plan for this chapter to go up right after Commander Anne, but what a fun coincidence. To contrast our girl becoming a better more rounded person in canon- Have some S1 Sasha wheeling and dealing with the biggest bad in her immediate area!

I saw a lot of people assuming Sasha was going to be living it up in Newtopia but consider that Andrias had bigger plans for poor little Marcy in canon and that she was a lot more vulnerable to his whole lovable doof persona. Ya'll were right Sasha wasn't gonna put up with that nonsense, and Andrias absolutely would see that.

I got such a great response to the last chapter! Thank you to everyone who left their sweet comments and Kudos!

To MeeposFire and That_Introverted_Guy, I'm glad the Marcanne content was enjoyable. I know both of you had been waiting since basically Chap. 1 for it. There is more to come, but it is gonna take a minute. 

To Amaris_Moonchild_426, Violetcore, Pogasaurus_Rex, and P_lion_artist, thank you for your sweet comments about the fic. Opening up to such dense comments are always great fuel for the writing engine. 

To Tired_VWORP, who was leaving comments all throughout the chapters, thank you so much, glad you enjoyed the ride. 

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this little perspective shift. We'll be back next week with Marcy and some frog friend drama.

Chapter 9: The Peacekeeper

Summary:

The World Hoppers have a couple of prospective recruits.

Notes:

- Content Warning -

- Marcy's Journal -

Day 39 in Amphibia,

Maddie and I have made some progress on the transmutation potion. It's by far the most complex potion either of us have attempted. Apparently it's ‘level 3’? A lot of it was theory, even to whoever wrote that grimoire. So far we can mostly only transmute things into some kind of gray sludge. Maddie’s coming over tomorrow to help me with the garden, we’ll talk more about it then. Being able to transmute new materials would be invaluable to my projects. 

[The following section of the journal has been decoded for the convenience of the reader.]

Okay, so I've been practicing and I can keep a totally normal tone of voice when talking to a picture of Anne. So, good news there. Bad news is that Hop Pop caught me in the middle of practicing. I panicked and lied and said I was practicing lines for a play from Earth. More good news, he totally bought it. Weird news, he was really interested? The conversation kind of got away from me and now I think we're writing a screenplay together? Apparently Hop Pop has an extensive theater background, which I didn't expect. Though it does fit him, somehow. 

---

"It turns out like half of my chores were secret training!" Ivy explained. It had been a week since the Firefly Formal and Sprig and Ivy were hiking around the edge of the Plantar farmland. Ivy hopped from post to post, kicking and punching the air as she talked. She was in a much better mood compared to a week ago. "Can you believe it? My mom, an adventurer!" Ivy said, still incredulous at the revelation. 

"It's pretty surprising," Sprig agreed, trying to imitate the moves Ivy was pulling, though his were sloppy by comparison. It was still a lot of fun, though! 

"A lot of the teas have really cool stories attached to them, too. She got the Toadal Black Tea after defeating a toad warchief in single combat!" Ivy expounded. "It has properties that can cool tempers and was used to seal alliances between the toad clans of the badlands."

"Wow, I thought you hated tea," Sprig said with a smile. 

"Me too! But it turns out that almost everything in the tea cabinet has really cool origins to it. There's one where Mom had to delve into the domain of a chickalisk to harvest the leaves!" Ivy said, brimming with pride. "I've got to thank Marcy for all this, I don't think Mom and me have ever gotten along better."

"She should be around. Me, Marcy, an' Polly are having an official World Hoppers meeting," Sprig said proudly. "I don't really get why we need to plan it, since we all live in the same house, but Marcy says it's important to have procedures." Sprig shrugged.

Ivy looked intrigued. "World Hoppers?"

---

"What's that?" Maddie pulled a shriekroot from the soil; it started to wail until she stuffed a pacifier in its mouth. It started to suck on it quietly as she tossed it in the basket with the others. 

They were in Marcy's little grotto, which had come a long way. There was a path laid with stones that allowed for easy access. The overgrowth had been harvested or weeded out, leaving behind six small planting plots. The stagnant pond had been cleaned out and was now a slowly babbling brook, filling the clearing with the steady sound of bubbling water.

Marcy had a pair of shears in hand and was cutting the pink flowers from a thornbloom. Each snip prompted a large stabbing thorn to grow suddenly from the wound. "I never told you about the World Hoppers?" Marcy asked, carefully pulling the petals off her most recently cut bulb. Maddie shook her head. "Well, it's kind of our adventuring group - me, Polly, and Sprig. To explore the world, hopping from one place to the next."

"Huh, you don’t say…" Maddie rubbed at her chin. "Are you accepting new members?"

---

"You want to join?" Sprig asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Sure!" Ivy said with a grin. "It'd be nice to have an excuse to hang out more with Marcy. Polly too, always liked the cut of that pollywog's jib,” she continued. Sprig frowned and Ivy pulled him down in a headlock. “We already hang out plenty, you goob, I don't need an excuse to see you.”

Sprig giggled as he wormed his way out of the headlock. "I bet Marcy and Polly would be thrilled to have you!" he said, opening his arms. "In fact, I'm so confident, I'll let you in on the secret handshake!" Sprig turned and held out his hand. “Alright, so first we each make a fist and punch each other's fists, but-" before he could finish, Ivy followed his instructions with gusto. Both of them winced in pain, shaking out their respective hands. “…But not too hard…"

---

"Then we put our hands on top of each other, and bounce them while saying ‘World Hoppers go!’" Marcy said, leading Maddie through each step of the process. “Then we throw up our hands and strike a power pose. Ready to try?” Maddie nodded. They fistbumped, stacked hands, and- “World Hoppers go!” They threw their hands up. Marcy put one hand on her hip and jabbed the other one towards the sky while Maddie awkwardly punched at the air in front of her. After a few moments they both broke and descended into a fit of giggles.

"Well, that was fun, but what's it for?" Maddie asked, picking up her basket of components.

Marcy shrugged as a warm smile came to her face. "It was just a fun thing a friend of mine used to do. She'd come up with all of these elaborate handshakes for different occasions." Marcy grabbed her own basket and they started to make their way back towards the Plantar home. "They were a lot more complicated though." An understatement, actually - Anne's handshakes were like trying to memorize a twenty-hit juggle combo in Street Kombat, but like, cooperatively on one controller. “But then one day, she stopped… I don't know, guess she got tired of it." Marcy frowned. 

"Well, I like it just fine," Maddie said happily. "Is there any kind of test for the World Hoppers? Should I whip up some curses?" she asked with a mischievous grin. 

"Nope, right now the only rule we have in place is that all the other members have to agree," Marcy assured. "Let’s go see what Polly and Sprig think!"

---

Polly lounged happily on the front porch. She had an ice cold glass of beetle juice in one hand and a jar of magic wind in the other to blow a consistent stream of cool air across her face. She wore a big pair of goofy blue sunglasses she had borrowed from Marcy. 

She was looking forward to the first meeting of the World Hoppers. They could figure out what their first big adventure was going to be! Polly didn't get to go out on her own much, and when she did it was always close to town or with Hop Pop, while Sprig and Marcy got to go on adventures all the time. She just had to convince Marcy and Sprig to take her along and then she would be having cool adventures too! 

Polly heard the sound of chatter and pushed up her sunglasses; Sprig and Marcy were converging towards the front porch with Ivy and Maddie in tow, respectively. She picked up her beetle juice and took a long sip. 

"Hey Polly! Hey Sprig!" Marcy waved.

"Marcy, Polly!" Sprig responded, "I had a question for our first meeting," Sprig said, looking back at Ivy. 

"Oh, me too!" Marcy said, smiling down at Maddie. 

Ivy tilted her head towards Maddie, who moodily avoided her gaze. Ivy scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I was wondering if you guys would mind if Maddie-" Marcy started

"What if Ivy-" 

Sprig and Marcy's eyes sparkled as they realized they were going to ask about the same thing. "-joined the World Hoppers!" both Marcy and Sprig finished in unison. 

"What!?" Ivy and Maddie both responded, startling both Sprig and Marcy.

"I am not going to be on any team with her!" Maddie croaked with barely subdued anger. 

Ivy bristled. “And I'm not going to be on a team with anyone who so clearly can't stand me!"

Marcy and Sprig exchanged nervous looks as the two squared off. "Hey, hey-" Marcy said, wearing a worried smile. "I mean, maybe you can both join and just not come on the same day?" she offered weakly. 

"Yeah, we can have squads or something," Sprig added. "Ivy can be in one and Maddie can be on another."

"Nope!" Polly interjected. "I veto them both," she said with a dismissive flipper. Everyone abruptly quieted down and all attention turned to Polly. 

"Polly…" Marcy whispered, giving a worried look to Ivy and Maddie. "Why?"

"Yeah, I thought we were cool," Ivy said, sounding confused and more than a little hurt. 

"Did I curse you by accident or something?" Maddie asked seriously.

"No, you're both cool," Polly said with a shrug. "But I am not dealing with this drama," she finished adamantly.

Both Ivy and Maddie let out a huff and went back to glaring at each other. 

"Well, I guess there's only one way to decide this," Ivy said 

"Bug duel!" Maddie agreed. "Tomorrow at dawn. Winner gets to join the World Hoppers."

"It's agreed." They shook on it.

Marcy and Sprig both looked on helplessly as the two started to storm off towards town. 

"Stop following me," Ivy sneered.

"We both live in town, genius," Maddie shot back. 

"Fine," Ivy said and sprinted off road towards the woods while Maddie continued storming down the road. 

As soon as they were gone Marcy frowned down at Polly. 

Polly stared back, uncowed, "Hey, you want to tiptoe around that drama bomb, that's your business. But I'm not dealing with it." Polly finished her drink, watching Maddie’s progress until she disappeared around a bend in the road. "So, are we still having our meeting?"

Marcy sighed, shaking her head. “No reason to have a meeting if we're just going to repeat everything to the new member tomorrow."

"Alright, sounds good, see you two once this mess is sorted out," Polly said before hopping into her bucket and heading back into the house. 

Once it was just the two of them, Sprig turned to Marcy, clearly distressed. "Marcy, what do we do? I've never had two friends fighting like this…" he tapped his fingers together nervously.

"I'm… not sure. Need more information," Marcy said, trying to figure out the best course of action. "First, do you know what this is all about?" 

Sprig shook his head. "Nope. One day we were all hanging out and then the next? Bam, those two couldn't stand each other."

"Wait, what?" Marcy gave Sprig a look, wondering what he was talking about. Did Sprig have friends before me or what? I guess it doesn’t really matter, but I’d like a clear answer…

"Oh, uh, so the Plantars, Sundews, and Flours, after…" Sprig looked to the side and shook his head. “…Well, basically we all were raised together. The adults took turns looking after us when we were pollywogs. Ivy, Maddie and I were around the same age so we ended up hanging out pretty often," Sprig explained. "Maddie and Ivy got their legs first… I was a late bloomer," he said with a shrug. “By the time I got my feet under me, both of them hated each other." A sad look came to his eyes. "…And when I kept asking why they weren't friends anymore they stopped wanting to hang out with me, too…" 

Marcy looked sympathetically at the little frog. "Well, don't worry…” she started, putting a hand on his shoulder, “…’cause Marcy Wu, friend peacekeeper, is on the case," she said, projecting confidence. 

"Really?" Sprig asked, looking up at her hopefully.

"Yeah, sometimes friends fight. It's up to their fellow friends to mediate,” she said with a nod. "I've had to help out Anne and Sasha plenty of times." She waved it off like it was no problem. Though it’s been a couple of years since they really fought, so I might be a little rusty. I’m sure it’ll be fine, though. "If you were all pollywogs this must have been years ago, right?" Sprig nodded. "So this is probably some grudge they've been holding onto for silly reasons. If we get them to realize that, maybe they'll go back to being friends and we can all be friends together!"

 "Hm, well with a title like peacekeeper, I feel like I should trust your judgment implicitly." Sprig nodded decisively. "Let's go for it!"

"Alright! You go check in on Ivy, I'll go get Maddie's side of the story." Marcy held out her fist. 

Sprig bumped it and they performed the secret handshake. "World Hoppers go!"

---

Sprig caught up with Ivy in the forest as she was looking through the underbrush for tracks. "Hey, Ivy."

Ivy looked over her shoulder at Sprig. She was visibly troubled, but brightened upon seeing him. "Oh, hey Sprig. Sorry about all that back there. I don't think I made a great first impression," Ivy said, scratching at the back of her beanie. 

"Yeah, um, do you want to talk about it?" Sprig offered. "I never really understood what happened between you two."

"Oh, right. You were two limbs shorter when that went down, huh?" Ivy chuckled. She raised a hand to gesture back and forth between their foreheads. "Funny you ended up taller than both Maddie and me."

"Yeah!" Sprig chuckled. After a pause, he tilted his head, "Soooo…"

Ivy sighed. "Alright, but it's a stupid story…"

---

"Hey Maddie!" Marcy tripped a few feet short of the blue frog, but picked herself up and dusted herself off. 

"Hey," Maddie said, giving a small but conflicted smile. "Did I forget something?"

"No, I was just curious about this whole 'bug duel' thing. Is it some kind of local tradition?" Marcy asked, genuinely curious.

"It's a way to settle disputes, mostly among kids. Keeps blood feuds from developing, too," Maddie explained earnestly. “Each side finds a bug to fight for them, then everyone throws theirs into a pit at dawn. The bugs fight, and whoever’s bug survives is the winner."

Marcy winced. “Brutal. So… what did Ivy do to get you so steamed?" Marcy asked innocently. 

Maddie sighed, "Are you sure you want to hear it?" Marcy nodded with interest. “Ugh, fine. So it's like this…"

---

"She shoved me!" Ivy said, long buried annoyance dug up fresh. “Right into a puddle of vomit bird chunks, in front of all the other kids!" Ivy's face shrunk up in disgust. "I couldn't get the smell off of me for a week. Everyone laughed and called me Barf Stink for months!"

"Yikes," Sprig said in sympathy, "I'm surprised Maddie would do something like that, she likes messing with people, but that's a step over the line."

---

"It was an accident!" Maddie explained earnestly "They were new legs! I was trying to catch up with everyone and tripped into Ivy. I wouldn't have done that on purpose."

"Ooh. Yeah, been there." Marcy, chronic clutz that she was, sympathized. "But I mean, she's still mad after all this time?" Marcy said doubtfully. “Even after you apologized?”

---

"She didn't even say ‘sorry’!" Ivy shouted, sending some nearby bugs skittering into the underbrush. "I would have forgiven her like-" she snapped her fingers, "-that!"

Sprig rubbed at his head, frowning, "Yeah, that'd be pretty hard to just move past. I mean, how do you not apologize after something like that?"

---

"She didn't give me the chance!" Maddie defended herself, gesturing widely to the side. "Before I could even stand up she started… shouting at me- saying-" she pursed her lips and took a slow breath to calm herself before rasping out, "-saying some really hurtful things. I ran away, and we haven't been friends since."

They walked in silence for a little bit as Marcy considered the situation. It sounded pretty bad. It was hard to imagine something that could get to Maddie like that - she seemed to have thicker skin then most. But then again, maybe there's a reason she was like that. "That sounds pretty rough."

"Yeah," Maddie agreed.

"It still bothers you now, after all this time?" Marcy asked. "I mean, did you ever really have a talk about it afterwards?"

Maddie looked up at her, and seemed to take a moment to consider Marcy herself. "It does bother me, yes. There's nothing really to talk about. When someone reveals who they really are, you can't just brush that aside," she explained as they entered the town. 

Marcy thought about Ivy; she didn’t know her that well, but Sprig seemed really fond of her, and Marcy just couldn’t see her saying anything hateful. "But maybe she's changed. It’s been years, right?" she suggested gently. 

Maddie started to retort, but one of the town kids called out to them. He looked a little older than Sprig, and had an irritating voice that wouldn’t that reminded Marcy of a particularly obnoxious kid from Saint James. "Well if it isn't the sage of the forest." Maddie flinched at his words. “Gonna do more of your freaky magic by yourself? Or do you have that weirdo spirit from the Plantars helping you?" 

Maddie didn't respond, just reached for a curse in her pocket. 

Before she could throw it, however, an older frog, the kid’s mom if Marcy had to guess, came out, grabbed his arm, and twisted it. "Now don't you start anything," she admonished before dragging him back towards the house. "Sorry girls," she called over her son’s muttering. Just before the door closed, Marcy could hear her scolding him. "Taunting a witch and her spirit, what were you thinking?"

Maddie sighed with a mixture of relief and frustration. She turned her attention back to Marcy. "…Listen, if you would rather have Ivy in your club… I'll just concede," Maddie offered, glancing back to read Marcy's reaction.

Marcy flinched at the implication and shook her head. “No, that's not-" Marcy started, but she cut herself off. "…I just thought it would be nice if we could all be friends." 

Maddie paused for a beat before nodding, looking satisfied. “Yeah. Yeah, it would," she agreed in a skeptical tone. They walked on for a few minutes before she spoke up again. "Say, do you want to help me prepare for the duel? I'd appreciate the company."

Marcy smiled and nodded, though she still felt a little conflicted. “Sure, I'd love to."

---

The sun was starting to set when Marcy and Sprig arrived back at the farm, both a little downcast. Marcy's arm was sore from cauldron stirring, but that was nothing compared to Sprig. He was covered in dirt and he had a few fresh bandages. 

"Any luck on your end?" Sprig asked. 

"No… what happened to you?" Marcy asked curiously. 

"Ivy asked for help for the duel… it was a lot," he said with a little wheeze.

Marcy nodded in understanding. They sat together on the edge of the porch to compare notes. 

"Well, it sounds like there's not much of a misunderstanding. Both of them are just waiting for the other to apologize," Marcy said with a sigh. "Maddie won't though, whatever Ivy said really rattled her…" Marcy thought of the look Maddie had given her when she offered to drop out. She had fully expected Marcy to agree, expected to be left behind. The memory was burned into Marcy's brain. 

"I think Ivy is ready to forgive, but she doesn't understand why Maddie won't apologize," Sprig confirmed. 

They let out a combined sigh of defeat. "Well, we better get some rest, we'll have to be up bright and early for the duel," Sprig said, pulling himself to his feet, "I'll go ask Hop Pop when dinner’s gonna be ready." 

"Oh, actually, hold up a sec, can I ask you a weird question?" Sprig paused and looked at Marcy expectantly. "Is 'sage' some kind of insult in Wartwood?" 

"Sage? Like the herb?"

Marcy shook her head, "No. Like what you’d use for a wise person." 

"No, not that I've heard of," Sprig said with a shrug. "I did know a Sage once!" Sprig held his head. "…Woah, I haven't thought of him in years,” Sprig said with a little chuckle. 

"Oh yeah?"

“Yeah, Sage Flour, he was Maddie’s brother. He used to be in our gang when we were pollywogs,” Sprig said with a nostalgic smile. “One time, he found a whole nest of chocopedes. What a day…”

Marcy chuckled. "Really? Why haven't I ever seen ‘im?" Marcy had seen Maddie's sisters plenty of times. They gave her the stink eye whenever she came to drag Maddie off. 

"Oh," Sprig started, an awkward ring in his voice. “Probably ‘cause he died?"

"What!?" Marcy jumped to her feet. "That's terrible! What happened?"

"Dunno, one day Hop Pop came to me and said something about Sage being gone and that… ‘I should be a good friend to Maddie?’" He rubbed his head, clearly struggling to remember the conversation. "I don't know, it was a long time ago and I hit my head a lot after getting my legs," he finished with a laugh. 

Marcy frowned angrily. "Wait… so that kid was taunting Maddie with the death of her brother? That seems… cruel." Marcy made a mental note of the kid; maybe Maddie should have cursed him. Little twerp.  

"Not everyone in the valley can settle their disagreements like civilized frogs, it's true." Sprig shook his head in pity. "Anyway, when do you think we should set out to see those bugs tear each other apart?"

---

The night came and went, and before dawn Marcy was sleepily following Sprig through the forest. Night still clung to the world around them - the sky was brightening, but the sun had yet to climb over the mountains surrounding the valley. Marcy stifled a yawn. Even going to bed early, she hadn't slept well. 

They arrived at a clearing with a giant ditch dug in the middle of it. It stretched wide across almost the whole clearing, and had steep slanted sides. Several burrowing holes dotted its side, most of which had collapsed. Marcy stretched, shrugging off her shoulder pack to get a full range of motion. 

"This is the place?" Marcy asked.

"Yup. This is the fightin’ pit," Sprig replied with a shrug. 

"Why do you stage a fight in a magpie beetle hole?" Marcy said, gesturing towards the collapsed tunnels that dotted the walls. From what she’d read, this was clearly where the creatures would come to perform their lovenado once every 20 years. 

"I dunno." Sprig shrugged. "This's just where we throw bugs into a hole to fight."

Maddie was the first to arrive, pushing a pillage bug the size of a large dog towards the edge of the clearing. Marcy had helped Maddie find it yesterday. It resembled a very large roly poly, but its chitinous plating was much thicker and had a ridge that went from head to tail. Their strategy for survival was to let predators tire themselves out trying to get past their armor, then start rolling around and ramming into their attacker while they were too tired to fight back. It was dangerous to try to hunt, but unusually easy to capture, since their initial instinct was to be passive. 

"Hey, Maddie!" Marcy waved.

The little blue frog smiled and waved back before glancing around the clearing. "Ivy show up yet?" she called back curiously.

"No! We just got here," Sprig answered. Then he muttered quietly to himself, "I hope Ivy’s alright…"

"Why?" Marcy asked, curious. 

Her question was answered by the approaching sound of snapping branches and twigs. A rising cloud of dust and fleeing dragonflies beyond the clearing heralded the approach of something big.  

Ivy burst out from the underbrush with a great beast in hot pursuit. A huge, brown, wingless mantis stampeded after her, claws swiping uselessly at the air. Ivy slid over the edge of the pit and grabbed onto the cliffside. The mantis followed, but it was too slow to realize where it was heading and ended up falling past Ivy. 

"Not too late, am I?" Ivy asked, flipping back up out of the pit. The mantis recovered from its tumble into the pit. It looked up and chittered menacingly, poking at the walls of the pit as it searched for purchase to find a way out. 

"That seems like overkill…" Marcy said with a raised brow. 

Sprig nodded. "Took us forever to track that thing down. She really wants to win."

Marcy grimaced. "Yeah… Maddie too."

Ivy grinned smugly over at Maddie. “You want to just give up now?" she called out from the other side of the pit. 

"Well, if I was any other kid I guess I would," Maddie said, shaking her head. "Unfortunately for you, I'm a witch." She smirked and pulled out a glass flask filled with bubbling green liquid. She doused the pillage bug before kicking it into the pit. As it rolled down the hill, it grew larger, doubling its size after just a few moments, its descent accompanied by a thundering rumble. Its chitinous plating shone in the early morning light. "Let the best bug win!"

"Wow, they both put a lot of effort into joining our group," Sprig observed.

"We should probably make like… pins or something, right?" Marcy suggested.

The mantis, sensing prey, let out a great shriek and surged forward, swinging its massive claws. The pillage bug was sent rolling back by the blow, but there was only a small dent in its armor. It rolled up the wall before reversing its momentum and charging down at the mantis. The mantis stepped to the side to avoid it, and took a swing at the small point in its prey’s side. The pillage bug let out a little cry and wobbled unsteadily, but continued its movement. 

The pillage bug started to roll up and around the side of the pit like a skateboarder in an empty pool, building up more speed and momentum over time, but no matter how fast it got, it couldn’t manage to land a hit on the mantis. 

"Come on, come on, hit it!" Maddie hissed. 

"You can do it, just slice ‘em up!" Ivy called out. 

Marcy saw as loose dirt from around the arena started to get shaken free from the wall. "Sprig, are you sure it's safe to-'' before she could finish her thought, the pillage bug circled just beneath where they were standing, and the ground beneath them broke free. Sprig jumped back on instinct, but Marcy lacked his reflexes and started to slide down. 

"Marcy!" she heard three voices call out in unison. 

She made a desperate grab for one of the many holes in the walls of the pit, and managed to break her fall. She looked up briefly to estimate how difficult it would be to climb out, but then heard a rumble and looked to her right. The pillage bug was already on a crash course with her. She let go, falling the rest of the way. Her adrenaline spiked as she scanned the floor of the arena. Seeing one of the burrow holes at ground level, she desperately scrambled to get into it. 

---

Maddie looked down at the pit with faint relief as Marcy dove into one of the nearby holes, but that wouldn't keep her safe for long. As soon as one of the bugs killed the other, Marcy would be next on their list. Ivy looked similarly distressed, and Sprig was digging through Marcy's abandoned bag, pulling out potions and curses, but clearly unablenot being able to tell one from another. 

Maddie rushed over to help with Ivy quickly following. 

"What do we do?" Ivy asked worriedly. 

Sprig's face was contorted with fear as he frantically rifled through the bag. "We need to save her with-" he pulled out a purple potion, "-this!" 

Maddie shook her head. "That looks like some of the insta-vines we developed, they won't be big enough for those two." She began to help Sprig search through the materials Marcy had on hand. 

"What about this?" Sprig asked, pulling out an icy blue potion. 

"Ice mist," Maddie informed him after a moment. "It would actually kill those things if we had enough of it…" Sprig looked hopeful, "…and Marcy along with them." He frowned and set it aside. 

Ivy shook her head, looking frustrated. "Do you have a plan?"

Maddie looked at the various loose components and started to nod. "I-I think I have what I need for a chimera curse, but I'll need some fresh water from the river, and something from that mantis." She looked up at Ivy. "Do you have a piece of it?" Maddie started gathering twigs and leaves to serve as kindling. 

Ivy shook her head. “…Not yet. But I can get something,"

Sprig plucked Marcy's water bottle from her bag and dumped out the contents. "I'll get the river water!" Sprig offered. "Just hang on, Marcy!" he called towards the pit before rushing off. 

"We're coming for you!" Ivy confirmed 

Maddie nodded and bent to her task as they both set out. She pulled out a fire curse to quickly light the kindling, but before she could throw it she saw movement out of the corner of her eye as Ivy psyched herself up at the edge of the pit. "Ivy what are you-" The pillage bug ramped up the side of the pit and Ivy jumped in soon after. "Ivy!" Maddie rushed to the edge to look in. 

Ivy was hanging from one of the burrowing holes, eyes focused on the chaotic melee below. "Get the rest of the potion ready!" Ivy called back. "Let me handle this!"

Maddie grit her teeth and then rushed back to keep the fire going. 

---

Ivy clung carefully to the wall of the pit, trying to keep her cool despite the two monsters clashing violently below her. Her mom had shown her some of her tricks, but she didn't want to test parrying an entire mantis scythe barehanded just yet. The mantis scuttled around the pit, focused on the pillage bug. Ivy took a few steadying breaths as dirt shook free from her perch. Then she saw her chance as the mantis turned its back to her. 

Ivy jumped as hard as she could toward the giant beast, wrapping her legs around its tiny neck. It shrieked in protest, trying and failing to maneuver its arms to get at her. Ivy reached up to its head, seized one of its antennae, and yanked. Ivy's head rang as the creature screamed in pain. It twisted its torso this way and that to try to shake her off. Unfortunately, despite her best efforts, she was shaken loose and landed hard on the ground, knocking the air from her lungs. She was slow to recover and looked up fearfully at the creature. It raised one of its claws menacingly and she screwed her eyes shut, only for the thunderous impact of the pillage bug ramming into the mantis’ side to send it staggering back in pain. 

Ivy wasted no more time and started to hop her way up the wall, using the burrowing holes as footholds. Sprig awaited her at the top and seized her hand to pull her over the lip of the pit.

---

Maddie worked frenetically on the potion. The setup was slipshod, at best. Sprig had returned with the water in record time, and it bubbled with a number of herbs and monster bits in a mason jar. She’d already had a bit of the pillage bug’s shell she had scraped off earlier. It waited in the mortar and pestle and she made grasping motions towards Ivy as she and Sprig ran up.

Ivy held out a bit of the mantis' antenna. "Will this work?"

"It'll do!" Maddie insisted. Ideally the piece would be dried out to make it easier to crush into a fine powder, but they did not have time for ‘ideal’ in any sense of the word. She dropped it into the mortar and pestle and began crushing the two monster parts together into a disgusting pulp. 

"So is this going to summon some bigger creature to come fight those two?" Sprig asked curiously. 

Maddie carefully started to scoop the mixture of chitin and mantis into the jar. “Not exactly…"

---

Marcy huddled in her little hidey-hole, trying her best not to panic. Every time the pillage bug passed her meager shelter she worried it would crash into her and squish her flat. She trusted her new friends to try and help her, she just worried they might not have enough time to do it. She had seen Ivy attack the mantis a moment ago, but she’d needed to retreat. Thank frog, she got out safely.

The pillage bug rumbled past Marcy again and she felt the dirt above her shift. A cloud of dust showered her; she was too slow to hold her breath and started to cough loudly. She squinted her eyes open and saw the mantis turn murderous eyes on her, like it could somehow tell that she was the reason it was there. It started to charge towards her and she pressed her back flush with the wall, but the burrow was no longer deep enough to provide any safety. The creature's claw rose and Marcy scrunched her eyes shut tight as it swung down. There was a loud thud, but she felt no sudden pain. She pried her eye open to see the mantis claw had sunk into the dirt a foot short of her. 

Then she watched as the claw scratched a furrow into the ground as it was dragged through the dirt away from her, pulled along with the entire mantis. Behind it, the pillage bug was similarly being pulled towards the mantis by some unknown force. Both chittered fearfully as they fought to resist the unnatural pull. Once they touched, their was a sickening squelching noise and their bodies started to meld into one another. The bugs started to scream and Marcy averted her gaze.

Once the horrific cacophony ceased, she allowed herself to look again and she did a double-take. The two had fused into an odd kind of… bug centaur. The upper torso of the mantis still stood tall enough to loom over her, but its lower half had been replaced with the awkward stubby legs and carapace of the pillage bug. The pillage bug clearly still had control of the lower half and wanted to roll up defensively, but couldn't with its new upper torso in the way. The mantis’ claws swung down at its new lower half but it couldn’t find an angle to do more than poke ineffectively at itself. The whole creature ended up falling over on its side after a short time. 

“Eugh…” Marcy grimaced as she slowly emerged from her hiding place. 

"Hey, Marcy!" Sprig’s call came from above, followed by a length of rope. Marcy took it and with only some difficulty started to pull herself up the side - her time in Amphibia had done wonders for her physical abilities. She only almost fell twice on the way up! It also helped that her three little frog friends were working together to pull her up. 

As she clambered over the side, Marcy smiled at the three of them. "Whew… thanks everyone…" She smiled at Sprig. “Told ya, every adventurer should have fifty feet of rope on hand…” Sprig ran over to check on her, but aside from some rope burn, she was fine. I should really invest in some gloves.

Ivy let out a sigh of relief as she and Maddie looked down into the pit where the monstrosity they’d created tried to reckon with its new existence, with little success. "Well, guess this is a bit of a draw, huh?" Ivy said, offering a hand and a smile, "I guess we both get to be World Hoppers?" She looked hopefully at Maddie, clearly eager to bury the hatchet and move on. 

For a moment Maddie seemed to seriously consider it. She started to reach back, but as she looked at Ivy her face slowly fell into an expression of hurt long remembered. Maddie sighed and let her hand fall to her side. "It's fine, I'll concede." She gave a nod of farewell to Marcy and Sprig before turning to leave.

Ivy looked after her for a few moments before her face flushed with frustration. "Maddie, what is this about!?" she demanded. Maddie's shoulders hunched but she didn't stop, and Ivy followed after her. "Maddie, please, talk to me!" She put a hand on her shoulder.

"Stop using that name like you care," Maddie snapped, voice cracking just a little into a croak of frustration.

"What- I don't understand-" Ivy sputtered.

Maddie whirled; her uncovered eye already brimmed with tears. "You called me Sage, okay!? 'Sage why did you shove me!'' she imitated, poorly, shaking with emotion. "'Sage, what is your problem!' Sage, Sage, Sage, right in front of all the kids in town!" Maddie croaked out. She rubbed at her eyes like it would stem the tide of tears. "Now any snot shoveler who feels like it can bludgeon me with my old name!” She looked up, face a mix of frustration, vulnerability, and fear. "You- you were the first person I told I wanted to change, and you just-” Her hand clenched into a fist before she threw it aside. “It hurt, okay!?" She took a few breaths as she stared at the ground, body shaking with emotion.

As Maddie spoke Ivy's face quickly shifted. Her look of frustration turned sickened and regretful. "I-" she stopped to collect her thoughts before speaking again. "Maddie, I really didn't mean- It wasn't on purpose, I swear." Maddie looked up, searching Ivy's expression. "Frog, I-" Ivy ran a hand under her beanie, eyes now prickling with tears of her own. "…No wonder you didn't want to talk to me." She let out a shaky breath. "Maddie, honestly, I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't on purpose?" Maddie croaked out. 

"No, I swear- I- I don't remember what I was thinking, but I definitely wouldn't want to hurt you like that…” she said sincerely. “No matter how much vomit was on me." She quirked a smile, prompting a reluctant snort of laughter out of Maddie. Ivy held her arms out, open and vulnerable. "I get it if you still don't want to be friends, but-" before Ivy could finish she was swallowed in a hug by the little witch. 

Marcy smiled at the sight, heart swelling at the reconciliation. 

Then Sprig hit his forehead with an open hand. "That's right! Now I remember, Sage became Maddie!" he said, finally putting the pieces together. 

"…Sprig, did you forget about all this?" Maddie said, sounding both baffled and happy. 

"Wait, what did you think happened to him?" Ivy asked teasingly. 

Sprig stood there awkwardly. “Well I don't think we need to go over that…"

Maddie’s grin was almost predatory. "Oh, I think I have a right to know."

Sprig looked to Marcy for a way out, but she just looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. "…I may have thought you sacrificed him in some kind of… ritual?"

Ivy and Marcy looked at him, slack-jawed, but Maddie just burst into a snorting cackle. When everyone turned to her for an explanation she just smiled. "I mean, that's not entirely inaccurate," she said with a creepy grin.

Clearly desperate to move past this conversation, Sprig was quick to push on. "Alright then, important question. Maddie, do you still know where that chocopede nest is?"

"Of course I do, Sprig, it’s underneath the bakery. I re-nested them so my dad could use them in pastries. You can have some every market day."

"Dang," Sprig said, snapping his fingers. "Well I guess all there is to do now is tell Polly we’ve got two new World Hoppers to welcome,” he said with a smile. 

Ivy looked to Maddie, "I mean, if you want to-"

"Are you kidding? Someone's gonna have to be there to keep you all from getting killed," Maddie said, reclaiming her usual cool veneer. "Come on, let's head back."

As the group headed away from the giant pit, Ivy and Maddie took the lead and rapidly chattered back and forth as they caught up on lost years. Marcy and Sprig stood back a few feet. Marcy took a deep breath, glad everything ended up going so well. 

"Guess they just needed to talk things out, huh?" Sprig said with a smile

Marcy's own smile dimmed a bit. “Yeah…” Sprig didn't seem to notice the dip in her mood, and hopped ahead to the other two frogs, leaving Marcy to stew in thoughts of the past.

---

"No!" Sasha said stubbornly. She huddled on top of the jungle gym, anger seething through all three-and-a-half feet of her. The sky above was overcast, but not dark enough to threaten rain. "If she doesn't want to apologize, I don't want to see her again." 

Marcy frowned, hands clutching at the hem of her skirt. She tried to descend quickly from the jungle gym, but tripped on the second step down and had to take the rest of the steps more slowly. Once her feet were firmly on the tanbark, she made her way over towards the other end of the play structure, under the bridge made of plastic wood that led to the enclosed yellow spiral slide. 

As she got close she could hear her other best friend’s sobbing and she felt her heart clench. She came around to the opening at the bottom of the slide. Anne sat inside, crying into her shirt. When she caught sight of Marcy, she looked up hopefully, but Marcy just shook her head. Anne's lip quivered. "I don-don't get it. I just did wu-what she asked me to do." 

Marcy wrung her hands. She had been sick the first week of second grade and hadn't seen whatever had caused the fight in the first place. All she knew was that Sasha had come up with some sort of game for her and Anne to play, but had gotten hurt somehow. It sounded like Sasha was to blame for what had happened, and Marcy tried to talk to her, but- but she was so stubborn. No matter what Marcy said, she wouldn't listen…

"You're on my side, right Marcy? I - I didn't do anything wrong, right?" Anne asked. 

Marcy froze and stopped rubbing at her thumb nail. She… was in theory. Anne would never have done anything to hurt Sasha on purpose. But if she said that - what if Sasha didn't want to be friends anymore? She had so few friends to start with, and Sasha always protected them from bullies.

"Marcy?" Anne's voice was quiet, desperate for agreement. 

"I-I don't know… I didn't see it happen?" Marcy looked down, unable to bear seeing Anne’s face. "I just wish we could all go back to being friends…"

"Oh…" Anne replied. The two of them sat in silence for a minute or so. Marcy felt a pit in her stomach, worried that she had made the wrong decision, that now Anne wouldn't want to be friends with either of them. "I'll apologize to Sasha…" Anne finally said, and Marcy looked up. Anne was smiling, but it was… wrong, somehow. It wasn't the earnest expression Marcy had grown used to. Anne’s arm crossed over her chest like when Mrs. Boonchuy was scolding her. "I want us to go back to being friends too…" 

Marcy could tell something was still wrong, but she got out of the way when Anne crawled out from the slide. She followed after when she went to find Sasha. To Marcy's relief, Sasha was satisfied with Anne's apology, and they all went back to being friends! So everything was okay, right? She did the right thing…

Didn’t she?

Notes:

1/4/24 UPDATE: Chapter Betaread by Sonar009

Me, musing to myself while gently bonking Marcy with my Nerf™ 'character growth' bat: You know what I always thought was interesting? Marcy never asked for details about the fight between Anne and Sasha. In Marcy at the Gates, after learning the two had a fight, she immediately pushes past it. Even when they reunite with Sasha and there's obvious tension, she never asks what exactly happened at Toad Tower. Almost like she knows that if she asks too much she'll have to take a side, and that might lead to an even bigger fight. 

She ends up on Anne's side of things in the Battle of the Bands and True Colors, but only because Sasha chose to align herself against them, and not because Marcy decided to. 

It's an understandable decision, if your priority is to keep your friends together at all costs. But then, what is the cost exactly of staying neutral? Well, lets think about it from Anne's perspective. If you had 2 friends, and every time you felt wronged or belittled by one friend, the other never took your side... probably wouldn't feel great, right? Probably wouldn't do good things for your self esteem. 

---

Alright, rant over. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! I again, did not plan for this chapter to come out right after a canon Episode where Maddie was featured OR the weekend after trans day of visibility, so that's a fun coincidence. On a related note to TDoV, I am trans, my pronouns are She/Her ^_^. And for the record I would absolutely sacrifice my AGAB to dark forces beyond my comprehension, given the opportunity.

Thank you all for reading! I got so many sweet comments last week from both regulars and new readers. It was a little overwhelming in the best way possible. I hope you all continue to enjoy the fic :). Also before I forget again, a few weeks ago one of ya'll set up a TVTropes page, which is ???? so cool???? Ya'll are great :D

To NarfoOnTheNet who commented on Sasha wielding a spear over a sword. You are correct that there is symbolic meaning to this change that I will explore more in 'season' 2. But also on a practical level, Canon!Sasha's training partners were toads, a group she has a natural reach advantage over. AU!Sasha's training was done largely with Yunan, who is ruthless, a close combat specialist, and just as tall as her. After a day or two of getting disarmed from the flick of a wrist, I think Sasha would prefer the practical advantages afforded by weilding a spear two handed over the style and swagger of the sword. 

For next week, we'll be doing some hard core no holds bar Dice Throwing!  Change of Plans! Next Week is a wholesome end of Season 1A

Chapter 10: Where There's a Witch There's a Way

Summary:

Marcy has a plan to save the stand!

- Marcy's Journal -

Day 45 in Amphibia,

I'm finally going to get to CM a game of Creatures and Caverns! Today there was a massive storm that threatened the crops, but thanks to my slick hydrophobic curse (it makes water scared of you! :D) we were able to save all the crops in a fraction of the time! Saving us all from slogging in the mud and rain all day! 

Hop Pop asked if there was anything I wanted for a reward. I knew money was tight so I asked if I could run a session of C&C for them! I'm so excited! I still have all my notes from the game I was trying to start with Anne and Sasha, we're going to play tomorrow!

---

Day 46 in Amphibia,

Okay, that was… a rough first session. Sharing the PDF on my phone made character creation a slog… It wasn’t all bad, though. So… pros and cons: Sprig was really into the story, but was having a bit of a nervous breakdown about how to play his wizard. Polly really liked fighting and intimidating NPCs, but was bored to tears when it wasn't her turn in combat. Hop Pop really loved all the roleplay stuff (and was good at it too), but the sheer amount of lore in The Bygone Realms setting stressed him out.

They were nice about it, but I could tell by the end they were just waiting for it to be over. 

It’s admittedly a little discouraging, but I have some ideas to streamline some of the mechanics, change the lore around. They promised to give me another chance

[On the opposite page is a sketch of a newt, a frog, and a toad dressed as adventurers, with ‘A.R.P.S.’ scrawled messily above them.]

---

"Polly, you're the only one not stunned by the spell… You can either try to stop the pirate captain from kidnapping the prince, or stop his minion from taking the crystal…" Marcy posed, hands steepled in front of her. "What do you do?"

"…The crystal, I dive to tackle the minions legs out from under him," Polly said, conflicted. 

"We can't leave the prince!" Sprig protested, "He’s our friend!"

"If that old lady was right, that crystal in the wrong hands could end the world!" Polly argued back. 

Marcy waited a moment for any other interjections, then gestured to Polly. "Roll agility, difficulty is a seven. It's not dangerous, but you have a lot of ground to cover and not much time."

Polly picked up the d10 from the set they were all sharing, "Come on…" Polly tossed the die into the bowl in the center of the table. It bounced as it reached the bottom and they all watched with bated breath as it spun on its corner. After a moment, it finally rolled to a stop, revealing a three.

Marcy started speaking, knowing she was going to be interrupted. "That's a three, plus your modifier is a five, so-"

Polly grabbed the last two marbles in her cup and dumped them into the bowl. "Two fate tokens!" she rushed out.

"-makes a seven," Marcy said and the frogs let out a collective sigh. "You tackle the toad, he goes down. You punch him once in the face and he drops the Olm Crystal. You kept it and its power out of the unscrupulous hands of these pirates." 

"As the rest of you regain your bearings, you see the villainous axolotl board his airship with the tied up Prince Andy. He gives all of you a smarmy mock salute as they cast off, flying off from the castle they crashed into. You see the prince's bodyguard, the newt knight Marcus, wounded, looking devastated…"

Sprig stood up in his seat and held out a marble. "I want to put a tracking spell on their ship!" 

Marcy pointed at Sprig. "One fate token to cast magic. Roll reason. Difficulty eight." Sprig dropped a marble into the communal bowl and was about to speak, but Marcy already knew his question. "Yeah, occult applies here, add a d4." Sprig rolled his dice, but they landed on a one and a three. No one had enough fate tokens to make up the difference. “You send out the spell, but you're still hurt; it dissipates as pain distracts you,” Marcy said apologetically.

Hop Pop spoke up. "After he recovers, Arnaldo will go over to Marcus to bandage his wounds"

Marcy nodded. "Mark load for the medical supplies. As you start bandaging, he doesn't look up at you - he's just staring out towards the airship and says," Marcy affected a gruff voice, “‘I’ve failed. When it mattered the most, I failed…’”

Hop Pop thought for a second before taking a breath and getting into character. "Arnaldo puts a hand on his shoulder and says ‘We’ll get him back. I swear, we will get him back.’” Marcy looked around the table at the Plantars. They all sat on the edge of their seats, eagerly waiting to see what would happen next. "…And I think that's where we'll call it for tonight," Marcy said, clapping her hands together. 

"What!? We can't stop now!" Sprig declared desperately. "I need to know what happens next!"

"That jerk needs to pay! No one makes a fool of me!” Polly added. “No one!" 

Marcy laughed as the Plantar kids started pulling at her from either arm. "I'd love to, but we've been at this for six hours, guys!" She had burned through what she thought would be two sessions’ worth of plot points. She allowed herself an ember of pride, pleased that they had enjoyed the game so much.

Hop Pop glanced out the window. "Yowza, time really slipped away from us. Let go of Marcy, kids, we’ve gotta get to bed. Tomorrow we're working on the family shrub." Hop Pop’s words were met with a pair of groans. "You get some rest too, Marcy. Thanks for the game, I’d definitely be up to playing again," Hop Pop said with an appreciative nod as he scooped Polly up into his arms. "Clean up before you go to sleep,” he called down before he began quietly musing to himself. “What a fanciful notion, a kingdom led by frogs…"

Marcy smiled, waving goodnight as the sounds of Polly ranting about all the ways she was going to get back at the villain receded into the distance. She looked over at Sprig, who had stayed behind to help her tidy things up. "What's a family shrub?" From context she guessed it was probably like a family tree, but then again the Plantars were a farming family; it could be a literal shrub. 

"Oh, it's like this big picture? It has all the branches of the Plantar family; uncles, aunts, ancestors, all that," Sprig said with a shrug. "It's been a couple of generations since it was redone, so we’ve been working on a new one. Man, is it boring," he lamented. "But Hop Pop says it's important we 'know the family history.’" He rolled his eyes. They worked together in a comfortable silence for the few minutes that it took to put everything away. “Thanks for the game, Marcy! I had a blast. Good night!”

Marcy, lost in her own thoughts, almost missed Sprig’s departure. "Night…" Marcy called out belatedly. As she went down into the basement, she felt a little tug of anxiety. She was sure that Hop Pop wouldn't want some outsider hovering around while he talked about their family history. He wouldn’t shoo her off, but that didn’t mean he’d want her there.

Ultimately, she decided that it would be for the best if she made herself scarce for the day. After everything they had done for her, it was the least she could do. 

Marcy quickly got ready for bed, setting an early alarm on her phone. Early the next morning, she woke up and grabbed a plump beetle as a morning snack. She left a short note so that they wouldn't worry about her and set off for town. Maddie was always down for a little witchcraft practice. Hopefully she didn't mind Marcy arriving before dawn…

---

It had been a couple of days since Marcy had run her first successful tabletop game, and the Plantars had been acting… odd. She had arrived back from Maddie's pretty late in the day, only to find that everything with the family shrub had been put away. The Plantars themselves all just seemed… kind of down? Disappointed? Sprig put on a smile and Polly played cool, but Marcy could tell they were upset about something. Hop Pop wore it more plainly, he just seemed… tired around Marcy. It was such a deep contrast to the joy he’d displayed playing a swashbuckling adventurer. 

Had she misread things? Maybe they saw her leaving for the day as an insult? Here she was, taking up space in their home, and she couldn't even be bothered to listen to some stories about their family? 

Ugh. Stupid. Why do I always have to mess these things up?

Marcy had asked what was wrong, but Hop Pop had just looked at her kind of sadly, shaken his head, and insisted that everything was alright, which only made Marcy feel worse. 

It was market day again, and there was an awkward pall over their booth. 

The high demand for tomatoes had died down, but they had a few regulars who always came by for a slice. Plus, most of the crops had also recovered from her initial tomato experiment, so the stand was largely back on its feet. 

"I'll take this gangly one, Hopediah," Mrs. Croaker said, holding up a yellow gourd.

"Ooh, I see a batch of Croaker stew in the works." Even while upset, Hop Pop always put on a good face for customers, though his face scrunched up as he examined the gourd more closely. "Wait a second, Sadie, you don't want that one…" He took the gourd, examined it, and then cracked it open to reveal a gourd maggot inside. "There you have it, this one's no good. Here, take this one instead," he said, pulling a healthier gourd from the pile and handing it to Mrs. Croaker. 

Mrs. Croaker chuckled a little. "Classic Plantar honesty… I've been buying from this stand since your father was running it, and you've never steered me wrong." Mrs. Croaker smiled warmly, then turned and walked off towards the rest of the marketplace. 

As Hop Pop returned to the stand, Marcy smiled and seized the opportunity. "How long has the Plantar stand been a part of Wartwood, Hop Pop?" she asked earnestly. 

Hop Pop considered her a moment, looking confused. Luckily, his desire to talk about the history of the family won out. "For as long as there has been a Wartwood! We've been selling vegetables here since Wartwood was just a crossroads in and out of the valley.” He puffed his chest out proudly. “The Plantar stand was selling vegetables to the workers who built the foundations all around us!" he said with a grin, looking up wistfully at the sign that hung above the stand. "Yep, this stand is the heart and soul of our family. I don't know what I'd do if we ever lost it…"

Marcy smiled as she looked up at the sign herself. After a moment, though, she was distracted by the sound of Toadie running up to them. 

"News! News!" He handed a folded piece of paper to Hop Pop, face beading with sweat. "Gonna run away before you read it!" he said before cartwheeling away towards the next stand. 

Hop Pop grumbled about the little toad as he pulled out his reading glasses. "Toadie, hmph! Little-" He unfolded the pamphlet and quickly read it over. "Say hwat!" Hop Pop's face became incredulous, then panicked. "Toadstool’s quadrupling the rent? And he wants it in three days!?" He looked around. All around the marketplace, vendors groused with one another about the sudden increase, angrily shaking their heads all the while. "At this rate we'll lose the stand!" Hop Pop started pacing back and forth. "What are we going to do!?"

Marcy frowned. She didn’t know the exact state of the farm’s finances, but from context clues she could tell the Plantars were only scraping by - especially now, with an additional mouth to feed. They couldn’t afford quadrupled rent. 

Marcy opened her bag, glad for the opportunity to prove herself, even as she felt guilty for seeing it as such. "Oh! I might have a solution!" she offered excitedly. Hop Pop looked at her, clearly desperate for anything that might help. "I've been working on something with Maddie.” She pulled out a flask with a thick red liquid inside. "It's a healing potion!" she explained, holding it up. "It'll heal small bruises and pains outright, and we're pretty sure it promotes healing of larger wounds too," she explained. "We can sell it by the dose to anyone in town who's hurt."

"It really works?" Hop Pop asked skeptically.

"So far!" Marcy said. It wasn't like her and Maddie had the time and materials to do proper clinical testing on it, but they got banged up often enough by their experiments and this had done the trick every time. "What do you think?"

"Is Maddie okay with it?" Sprig asked cautiously.

"Oh, good call. Hey Maddie!" Marcy called across the way to the stand manned by the Flours. 

Maddie turned around from where her dad was shaking his head as he looked over the flier in his hand. He didn't look as panicked by it; the bakery was popular enough that his family could probably take the hit, or even get rid of the stall if need be. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Do you mind if me an' the Plantars sell the potion we designed together?"

"I want twenty percent royalties on the profits!" Maddie replied without hesitation.

"That’s reasonable! Thanks!" Marcy called out appreciatively with a wave.

A new voice spoke up from behind her. "Did I hear you right about a healing potion of some kind?" 

She turned to see Loggle standing behind her, though his entire arm was consumed by scabby sores. "Woah, Loggle, what happened to your arm?"

"Didn't realize a log I got was full of bloodmites until I started carving. Luckily, I was able to get the spray before they drained me dry.” He laughed and held up his injured arm. "That said, it hurts like none other and I can’t carve like this. I would be more than happy to put up the coppers if you have a solution."

Marcy looked back at Hop Pop for the go ahead. She didn't want to overstep her bounds again. He seemed conflicted, but gave a little nod. Marcy turned back to Loggle. "Alright! It's eight coppers a dose. You want to try out one dose and see how you feel? It might take a couple to get rid of it entirely," she warned

"I wouldn't…" he paused, "…have asked if I wasn't willing!" he finished. Marcy carefully measured out a dose into an empty sample jar. She estimated she could wring out about 5 doses per brewing.

Loggle counted out a stack of copper which Marcy swapped for the dose. He swirled it around in the jar before tossing it back. After a few moments, the sores all started to glow slightly and shrink in size. Loggle held up his arm, opening and closing his hand "Remarkable! It doesn't feel like my arm is on fire anymore!" he said, amazed. 

"Would you like another?" Marcy asked, smiling as a crowd started to form around them. 

"I won't…" Loggle began. He reached for his bag and counted out more coins. “…even hesitate!" Loggle took another dose, and the bloodmite sores slowly shrank until they were no more than tiny red bumps on his arm. Chatter filtered in from the crowd around them and Marcy could feel the buzz of excitement for the potion.

From the crowd, Marcy picked out a few whispers. "She's not just a spirit of fire and souls! She heals as well!" 

Marcy frowned slightly. "Actually-" she went to correct, but the crowd was starting to look at her hopefully. Well, at least it’s a positive supernatural trait this time. "If anyone wants a dose, come over to the Plantars’ booth!" she announced, "I won't have enough for everyone today, but you can reserve a dose for tomorrow!" she explained, pointing everyone towards Hop Pop. A stampede of people followed her instructions and she actually had trouble getting back to her little stool behind the stand. 

Over the course of a few minutes, they figured out a system. Marcy would look over someone's wound, bite, or sickness, and advise the number of doses needed for a patient to get well again. Occasionally, she would have someone with a very old wound, like Stumpy, and had to gently break it to them that the potion couldn't help wounds that severe. By the end of the day they had enough orders that they were already a quarter of the way to saving the stand, even taking Maddie's cut into account. By her estimation, she had enough potion materials in her garden to fulfill this first day of orders without much trouble. 

Once they ran out of doses and the rush died down, they packed up the stand early for the day so that Marcy could go back to start brewing. It was going to be a lot of work. She talked a big game, but the healing potion was a very meticulous brew - it had five steps, each one took about an hour, and if she messed up any of them she would spoil the whole batch.

She and Maddie also hadn't quite figured out a process to brew in bulk. It wasn't as simple as scaling up the amount of ingredients used. There was some X factor they hadn't identified yet that caused the potions to only be potent when created in specific quantities. 

In other words, she would have to work in small batches. It would be rough, but it wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to pull an all-nighter.

---

Hop Pop was amazed by their turn in fortune. Thanks to Marcy, they might actually have a shot at saving the stand! Marcy had brewed up all the potions they needed to fulfill orders overnight, and they’d gotten the money from everyone who had reserved a potion. They were only getting more orders! Word of mouth had gotten around to most of Wartwood at this point. At the rate they were going, they wouldn’t just save the stand, they might even get rich! Marcy was looking over people, working diligently to prescribe the proper dosages for their customers 

As she worked, Hop Pop noticed the bags under her eyes and felt a little guilty. He’d offered to help her with the process, but apparently it was pretty complicated, and she’d insisted she could handle the work. 

By the time he decided to close up for the day, they were well over two-thirds of the way to saving the stand. All thanks to their little… traveler? House guest? He wasn't sure how Marcy felt about their arrangement anymore, but he was grateful for everything she did. As the last patient of the day got up and stretched, Hop Pop looked at her with a smile. "How you holding up, kiddo?"

Marcy smiled back, though her eyelids drooped a bit. She stretched as she stood up from the stool. "Alright. Kinda lost track there after a while. How many doses do we need for tomorrow?" 

"Sixty-four!" Hop Pop said with a grin, looking down at his sheet, but then he looked up at Marcy, who seemed to have gone slightly pale at the words. "Is that, uh… alright?" he said, suddenly worried. 

"No… I mean, uh, it's fine.” She forced a smile. “It’s just a bit more than I have raw materials for at the moment."

Hop Pop paused. "Listen, I appreciate what you’re doing, but I can sell some things on the farm if it’s too-"

"No, it's fine! I can handle it," Marcy insisted before changing focus over to Sprig. "Sprig, do you think you can help me with a bit of foraging today? I’ll need it for the next round of potions." 

"Yeah, no problem!" Sprig jumped up from his position of measuring out doses, ready to be anywhere but the stand. 

"Great. I just need to talk with Maddie before we go. Don't worry, Hop Pop, we'll save the stand yet!" She packed up what she needed and Hop Pop watched as she rushed out towards the woods. 

Hop Pop huffed a short breath through his nose. A part of him worried that she was pushing herself too much, but Marcy was a smart kid. If she thought she could handle it, then who was he to doubt her?

---

Marcy felt the onset of eyestrain as she finished setting up a second parallel potion production line. She'd be able to perform all the necessary steps of the healing potions production, doubling the output. She had a station for preparing all the ingredients, a place for boiling down and concentrating the potency of those ingredients, a station for creating the specially imbued salt solution, a space for mixing and boiling down the concentrated potion and imbued salt solution, and finally a station for mixing in the sugar cherry pulp that made the final product pleasant to drink. 

She and Sprig had gotten back just after sundown, which meant that if she started now, she should have just enough time to get Hop Pop the doses he needed before sunup. "Thanks for all your help, Sprig, your eye for foraging is second to none!" she said, followed by a cough. She had forgotten to hydrate again. She turned to the little pink frog while drinking deeply from her water bottle. 

Sprig looked at Marcy with slight concern. "Marcy, you look a little… crazed."

Marcy brushed off the comment. “Oh, you know… just nervous excitement.” She started to grind down the ingredients they had foraged. “Using magic to help people, that’s all.” She looked back to Sprig; he didn’t look convinced. 

“You know, we could always try and come up with another way to save the stand. Maybe like a talent show?” Sprig offered. 

“That sounds great, Sprig,” Marcy said, only half-listening. “Every copper will help. I’ll keep at this and you do that.” 

Sprig’s smile curdled a little. “Just uh… make sure you get some rest, okay Marcy?” 

"Don't worry, I've got it under control! Thanks for all your help today!" she assured him and Sprig turned to go upstairs. Once he was gone, Marcy pulled out a pouch containing a curse of sleeplessness and chucked it at her own face. She felt a rush, similar to caffeine, tighten around her mind. But where caffeine would eventually abate and fade in potency, Marcy felt no such failing. 

This way she would be able to keep at it until they were done. She could rest when the stand was safe.

She heard the first of her alarms ring and she rushed over to the salt imbuing station. She quickly siphoned off the pure solution before refilling it and setting it to boil again.

---

Hop Pop woke up to fourteen jars of Marcy's potion sitting in the living room. There was a little note on top that read: 

Going to keep brewing! Go to the market without me. Maddie will handle assessing people! :) Had breakfast already, so don’t worry!

- Marcy

Hop Pop looked over the note. It was smart thinking ahead, but for some reason it didn’t quite sit right with him. Still, he didn't have time to dwell on it. Marcy had put in the work of getting all this ready for them, and he wasn't going to let that effort be in vain just ‘cause he dawdled at home. 

He and the kids went to the market together, though Sprig broke off on the way - he apparently had a job to do for Marcy.

Even before they were done setting up, people were lining up to collect their reservation. Hop Pop couldn't help but feel giddy. In all his years manning the stand, he had never dealt in so many coppers in one day. Polly was in charge of measuring out doses. Maddie came as promised, assessing new patients while he kept the line of customers moving. 

Some people showed up just to see what the buzz was about, and didn't have any particular injuries to speak of. Others were repeat customers who wanted to have some in reserve in case they got hurt.

Around midday, there was a lull and Hop Pop closed the stand down for a lunch break. He got some slop from Stumpy's for the three of them. 

As they waited for their orders, Maddie looked up at the two Plantars. "How's Marcy doing?"

"Seemed okay last time I saw her," Hop Pop replied. "Little frazzled."

"Tired," Polly added.

"Hm…" Maddie mumbled. The food arrived and she poked at the slop before taking a spoonful to eat. 

A part of Hop Pop wanted to leave it at that, but he pressed on. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know…" Maddie thought it over and then amended, "You know that Marcy would do anything for you guys, right?"

Polly nodded immediately, and Hop Pop followed soon after. He wasn't totally sure what was going through the kid’s head most of the time, especially after the other day, but he could tell she cared.

Maddie gave him a piercing look, but then shrugged and hummed in acceptance. 

They finished their food in silence. When they arrived back at the stand, there were already people milling about waiting for them. Usually the sight of so many customers would fill his heart with glee. They were so close to saving the stand, and at this rate they could start working towards next month's rent. 

But something didn't sit right with him, so he put a hand on Maddie's shoulder. "Maddie… I think we'll shut down early for the day." 

Maddie looked at him curiously for a moment but then inclined her head. “Give Marcy my regards.” 

He called out to the customers milling around the booth, "Hey folks! Got a bit of a situation on the farm, so we'll be closing down early today!" There were a few who asked him to take their order before leaving, but he refused them. He packed up the empty jars onto Bessie and headed back to the farm with Polly. 

When they got back, they found Sprig and Ivy in the living room, looking over a map of the valley. The places they were marking weren't Toad-Lands dangerous, but they were definitely the more untamed areas around Wartwood. "Hey, Hop Pop," Sprig greeted. "Did the market close early?"

"No, not as such," he said, feeling more confidence in his gut instinct. "What are you two doing?"

"Oh, uh, Marcy said that she was going to need help going out to collect some stuff for the healing potions," Sprig explained. “She wanted to see if Ivy would come along to help out.”

Ivy gave a distracted wave. Usually the two of them would be excited at the prospect of adventure, but they were oddly subdued. 

"Marcy's downstairs?" 

"Yeah… she said she's fine," Sprig offered, completely unprompted.

"Well… I want to have a talk with her." Hop Pop reached down to open the trap door. A gout of steam rushed out. After it cleared, Hop Pop stepped down into the apparently humid basement. Inside he found something of a spectacle. 

Marcy had transformed the entirety of the basement into an elaborate workshop. She moved around it like a sailor in a storm: drawn and haggard, but with purpose. She stirred and tasted from a cauldron and added a dusting of something to another, before moving to grind something else down in her mortar and pestle. 

For a minute, Hop Pop just watched quietly, mesmerized by the display. He could see the determination in Marcy's eyes, but he could also see the exhaustion. Her breathing was a little off, and when she wasn’t moving her body sagged like she was carrying a heavy burden. 

Hop Pop felt the presence of Sprig and Polly behind him on the stairs, their concern stacking atop his own.

Marcy coughed violently, then went to a corner where her water bottle sat and took a long drink from it. It was then that she caught sight of Hop Pop and the others on the stairs. She smiled, though it had a distinctly brittle quality to it. "Hey!" she said, happily at first, and then suddenly worried. "Wait. You’re back… what time is it!?" she fretted, hand digging into her pocket for her phone. 

"We're just back early, Marcy," Hop Pop assured. There was palpable relief on her human features. Hop Pop stepped into the maelstrom, careful not to knock anything over. "Marcy… did you have lunch yet?" he asked, worried he already knew the answer. 

"Oh, right, uh… nope. I'll grab something before I head out with Sprig and Ivy," she promised. "As soon as I'm done with this last batch, that is. Gonna need to resupply afterwards, anyways," she explained. "Did something happen? Why are you back so early?"

"Don't worry about it…" Hop Pop insisted. He took a closer look at her. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she wavered unsteadily on her feet. He wasn't an expert on what health looked like on a human, but he was sure he hadn't seen her skin so pale before. "Marcy… did you sleep at all last night?"

"Nope!" she said with a proud grin. "Wouldn't have been able to make enough if I had. Did we get any more orders?" she asked earnestly, sitting down on a small stool.

Hop Pop took a breath and thought back to what Maddie had said. He felt his heart drop a bit as he contemplated his next words. "We got a couple, but I don't think we'll take anymore.” Marcy’s face shifted to worried confusion. “I’m putting a stop to this whole thing." 

"What!?" Marcy lurched up from her stool. "But- but why?"

"Marcy, look at yourself…" Hop Pop said, allowing the parental concern to seep into his tone, "…You're running yourself ragged, barely eating, and did you sleep the night before either?" 

Marcy’s eyes shifted to the side. "I-I'll fix that. I read once that a person can survive on eight twenty-minute naps a day," she said, as if it was a puzzle to work out. "I can schedule them between steps in the process, I can still make this work!" she promised. "I-I'll make sure I eat more, I-"

"Marcy," Hop Pop said with a tone of finality, "I'm the adult, I'll figure something out. Thanks to what you did, we have a good amount to float on for a month or two," he assured her. “For that you have my gratitude.”

"But what- what will happen to the stand?" Marcy countered.

Hop Pop took in a deep breath. The next part didn't come easy. "We'll probably lose it," he admitted. “If vegetables aren't enough to keep it open, then we’ll need to find something else.” He shrugged helplessly. “ But I’m not gonna put that burden on you, even if you're willing to bear it." 

"What- but we can't give up! We’re so close," Marcy said hurriedly, "You said yourself how important the stand was to our family!"

Hop Pop opened his mouth to again reassure her, but his words caught in his throat as what she said registered. 

---

Marcy quickly covered her mouth as her brain finally caught up with it. She tried to force a smile, to play it off. “The family, I meant the family," she tried to amend. Hop Pop didn't look convinced. If anything, he looked shocked - Sprig and Polly, too. But of course they would. She had just met them a month and a half ago. Marcy was someone they took in out of fear and then kept out of pity.

Marcy felt tears well up in her eyes and she looked away. 

It had been going so well. She was going to save the stand and then they would all like her again. Now they were going to think she was some clingy weirdo trying to pry her way into their lives. 

Her breath hitched and she started to crumple in on herself. 

Just as she was about to fall completely to pieces, she felt a gentle hand on her hip and looked down at Hop Pop. She tried to read his expression but she was so tired and far too upset. "I-I'm sorry, I-"

"It's okay. Take some deep breaths, no one's mad,” he said in a calm voice. Marcy managed a few pained gasps before her breathing steadied out. Hop Pop shook his head, "This… really isn't the kind of conversation to be having on no sleep," he decided. He looked around at the cauldrons. “Are these almost done?"

Marcy nodded, looking at the final cauldrons that the finished potions were slowly boiling down in. "…They- they just need a little while to boil down… ten or twenty minutes?" she said, happy to have anything else to focus on. "…they’ll turn that red color when it's ready."

"Alright, sounds simple enough. No reason to let your work go to waste.” He sniffed at the air, which was acrid from the constant potioncraft. The little basement window had not been sufficient ventilation. “You go get some sleep upstairs on the couch. We can handle this last step… We'll have a talk in the morning."

Marcy nodded again, too tired to put up any argument. She muttered some rote instructions for bottling the potion, not able to meet any of their eyes. Once she was satisfied they had it down, she grabbed a vial of curse antidote and her pillow before trudging upstairs.

As she emerged from the basement, she ran into Ivy, who was packing up her things. She gave her an awkward smile and wave before leaving. Marcy returned it out of habit before moving towards the couch. 

Her mind briefly tried to predict the conversation that would follow, but she couldn't focus on anything anymore. They would probably let her down easy… she hoped. She dropped her pillow on the couch and drank the antidote. She was unconscious before her head hit the pillow.

---

Marcy was small again. Young, sitting down on the floor. Small enough that when she saw Hop Pop, he was much taller than her. He had a tired look in his eyes, and when he spoke to Marcy it was with reserved disappointment. 

“Marcy, please try to understand…”

---

Marcy felt herself come out of sleep, heart stinging. Her eyes still stung from overuse, but it was definitely light out. She slowly opened them and to her surprise found Sprig looming over her.

Before she could ask what was up, he turned towards the kitchen. “She’s awake!" he called out excitedly before hopping away towards the kitchen. “You wait there!” 

Marcy sat up slightly, which is when she realized she was covered by a quilt that she hadn’t fallen asleep with. She sat up, pulled the quilt tight around her shoulders, and tried to take the world in. 

She could hear the muted, early morning chirps of bugs through the windows. Soft light streamed in from the window behind the couch; all of the light shrooms had been turned off. She could also hear the sound of butter frying before it was snuffed out and replaced with the smell of… chocolate?

She sat as still as she could, immersing herself in the moment. Committing it to memory.

Soon, she heard quiet whispering from the kitchen before the Plantars emerged. Sprig carried a plate of syrup-rich pancakes while Polly hopped along behind him holding a glass of juice. Half of the juice sloshed out of the cup as it made its way to Marcy. Sprig and Polly sat on either side of her as the plate was delivered to her lap. She smiled down at the flapjacks, remembering her first meal in the Plantar household. Then she frowned, knowing she couldn’t put this off forever. "About yesterday-" she started, intending to apologize

"Ah-ah!" Hop Pop held up a hand. “Eat first. Those are best hot. Need to go get some stuff together anyhow." He turned around before Marcy could respond. “Now,  where did I leave it…” he grumbled to himself.

"They have choco-pedes in them!" Sprig said with a smile.

"If you don't eat them, I will," Polly threatened good naturedly. 

Marcy looked closer and saw a bunch of tiny brown bugs interspersed in the pancake. She awkwardly sawed off a piece using just the side of her fork and took a bite. The rich, sugary taste of maple syrup and chocolate saturated her taste buds. The little bugs tasted just like chocolate! Milk chocolate! She wasn't sure what possible evolutionary niche that was supposed to fill, but it was fascinating to think about - and delicious to eat!

Sprig and Polly filled the air with good-natured chatter while Marcy dug into her food, bickering over whether it was better to add syrup before or after cutting your pancakes. 

By the time Hop Pop returned, Marcy had finished her food and was almost done with her juice. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she didn't think she was in trouble. She was still on edge, but if they were evicting her, this was a weird way to go about it. 

Hop Pop returned, holding a large picture frame, facing away from Marcy. He cleared his throat to quiet Polly and Sprig. "The Plantars have a long, proud-"

"-boring," Sprig added, getting a scowl from Hop Pop.

"And dull!" Polly amended

"Hush!" Hop Pop said to mischievous chuckles. He cleared his throat. “A long, proud, and rich history." He flipped the picture frame, revealing a meticulously drawn shrub. Its branches were decorated by tiny portraits of all sorts of frogs… and a newt? Hop Pop held it out and Marcy took it into her lap to look at more closely. "Part of being a Plantar is knowing that history," he explained, pointing towards one section in particular. "Here we have my father Hop Poppity Pop and my mother Delilah." He traced his finger along the branch. "Here’s me and Margaret, may she rest in peace." 

He continued to lead her gaze a little farther up to a pair of frogs, a ginger-haired woman with orange skin like Hop Pop. Next to her was a pink frog wearing a straw hat. "My daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Teddy…" his finger lingered there for a moment before continuing up to the end of the branches with portraits of Sprig and Polly. Both were drawn in folksy formal wear. "And of course you know these two knuckleheads."

Marcy nodded. It was easy to see the amount of care that had gone into all of it. Her eye did catch on something odd, though. A thin branch started from Hop Pop’s portrait and snaked its way around Sprig and Polly's parents to stop right next to the kids, but there was no portrait attached. She pointed out the empty frame. "Who's supposed to go here?"

"Well…" He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small oval piece of paper, "…I guess you get to decide that." He handed it to Marcy then picked up Polly so he could sit down with her in his lap. Marcy frowned a bit in confusion as she took the paper. She tried to come up with some explanation other than the obvious, impossible, implication. As she flipped the paper around, those insecurities were suddenly banished.

It was a portrait of her in a fancy, old-timey dress. As everything finally clicked into place, she felt a welling of emotion in her throat. Tears stung at her eyes and then began to flow freely. She felt Hop Pop's hand alight gently on her shoulder and Sprig leaned against her other side "You… you think of me as family?" she asked quietly, as though saying it too loud would break the possibility.

"Mmhm," Hop Pop confirmed. "If you wanna be… Honestly, I had this all prepared for the other day. When you snuck out before dawn we thought you weren't comfortable with the idea."

So that’s why they had been upset. Marcy shook her head, a strangled hiccup escaping as she spoke. "I just- I didn't want to impose…"

"Impose!" Hop Pop said in mock outrage. At Marcy's questioning stare he shook his head. "Marcy, you really can't see the forest through the trees, can ya?" He smiled softly. "Marcy, you've acted like family since you came here. Your improvements to the farm and all your gizmos have left me with more free time than I've had in years."

"You showed me that a mind can be the deadliest weapon of all!" Polly said with a smile that looked more innocent than her words. “Plus, you’ve been pretty cool to hang out with, all in all.”

"You helped me reconnect with two of my oldest friends,” Sprig added eagerly. “Not to mention being the best friend a frog could ask for."

Marcy looked between them as tears continued to fall. 

"But even if you hadn't done all that," Hop Pop added, "we would still want you around. You know why?" Marcy looked up, waiting for an answer. Hop Pop’s voice became gentle, fatherly, "Because you are a sweet, earnest, and kind girl; who finds wonder in everything around her." He rubbed her back comfortingly.

Marcy felt her heart swell with unalloyed joy, no caveats or exceptions. The little knot of anxiety she had held for the last six weeks slowly came undone. 

The Plantars, her family, pulled her in for a hug. A distant analytical part of Marcy's mind marveled at how the embrace of coldblooded amphibians made her feel so warm. They held there for a few moments as Marcy choked out laughs between sobs, trying to find words that just weren’t coming. 

"Now, do you want the honor of affixing your portrait? I got plenty of options for glue," Hop Pop offered, pulling up a basket full of glue bottles. Marcy smiled and nodded, unable to speak clearly. 

After meticulously adhering her portrait to the shrub, they spent a little time with the board. They talked about some of the other Plantar lines, distant family members who didn't live in the valley anymore. 

Marcy was eventually able to calm down enough to speak without trouble. She helped Hop Pop to hang the finished family shrub on the wall while Polly and Sprig cleaned up her breakfast plates. As Hop Pop carefully evened out the picture frame, Marcy felt a long-held curiosity bubble to the surface. "Okay, so if I'm a Plantar now, can I ask a weird question?" 

"Of course, Marcy. What’s on your mind?"

Marcy took a breath, extremely excited. "I've been dying to know, what is with the dungeon under the house?" Movement in the room stopped as they all stared at Marcy like she had grown a second head. "What?"

"Dungeon?" Sprig asked and looked to Hop Pop.

Hop Pop shook his head, "Marcy, I know it's not exactly the Hemisphere Hotel, but I'd hardly call your basement a dungeon."

"No, not the basement, I mean the dungeon.” She waited for one of them to break, but they all just seemed genuinely confused. "You know, with all the puzzles and deathtraps?"

"Let me feel your forehead," Hop Pop said, holding up a hand. 

"I'm not sick-" She shook her head. “Okay, just wait a second." She walked across the room to the fireplace.

“Our house has deathtraps?” Polly asked Sprig, who shrugged, equally in the dark. 

Hop Pop shook his head. "Marcy, I've lived here for a long time, I'd know if-"

"Bop." Marcy confidently pressed in the center of the portrait of two farm frogs. A mechanical click sounded and the painting rotated on its side. The wooden mantle of the fireplace flattened and rose up with the top of the stone work. As the back of the fireplace split away, an earthen passageway revealed itself. Plant roots poked out from a dirt ceiling above a stone staircase that led down into the dark. 

"I found it back when I wasn't supposed to leave the house," Marcy explained while the Plantars gathered around her. "You were all out at the market at the time. It seemed like a big family secret, so I never brought it up." She gestured downward, then looked a bit guilty. "Oh, full disclosure: I may have kinda scavenged most of my alchemy equipment from the laboratory down there,” she said apologetically. She looked down at the three frogs and found them all looking down in slack-jawed wonder. Marcy looked between the revealed passage and her family, waiting for some kind of acknowledgment. "You… you guys really didn't know about this?"

Notes:

1/4/24 UPDATE: Chapter Betaread by Sonar009

Creatures and Caverns

So a different chapter was supposed to be coming this week, focused on Creatures and Caverns, but for the life of me I just couldn't make it work.  I had a couple of good lines and moments but the conflict felt flat, it felt off, it was honestly kind of preachy. Bluh. I didn't want mediocre chapters clogging the fic, so I scrapped it and salvaged what I wanted in Marcy's Journal and the Opening scene. I swapped the chapter number to 19 for most of this week thinking thats where we would be stuck at, but I thought of a good chapter to have near end of season, so we're back to 20 again. 

Fun Fact CM stands for Creature Manager, an essential member of any C&C group. 

Anyways, it was nice of Marcy to design a simplified system so her and her family could enjoy table top together. Sure be nice if we could play it, but it would be kind of weird to actually design it right? I mean all that effort and time to make reality a fictional game in a piece of fanfiction for a totally different cartoon. I mean, who would have priorities like that?

...

---

A.R.P.S.

[Art by metamatronic]

[Rules] [Character Sheet]

The answer is me. I have priorities like that. So anyways I designed an RPG system based on how I think Marcy would try to simplify C&C. It's not like a super deep system, so I don't know how feasible it is for a long term campaign. But on the upside, it is only 2 pages long. 

So if you have ever wanted to try tabletop RPGs but were intimidated by the sheer amount of material one must sift through, I hope this can be a low investment onboarding point

---

Comments

So I again got a lot of great comments last week and it's just so... nice. Thank you everyone who takes the time to write a little after reading. 

@XavierSkrillex, violetcore, That_Introverted_Guy, and Mattiewice. I'm glad you enjoyed/appreciated my interpretation of Marcy's relationship with the other girls. I'm really excited to get to exploring the 3's relationship in earnest, but I still have a couple more dominos to set up before we get there. Anne is coming though, soon, sooner now that I scrapped that chapter.

@Kutenaiabi. Who asked for a little clarification on Maddie's situation. No it's not offensive to ask (In My Opinion). And yes, Maddie used witchcraft to what we could refer to as medically transitioning her gender. Also, this gives me the opportunity to share a fun bit of foreshadowing I put in chapter 3

[Marcy] “What about you? Why did you get into the Dark Arts ?”

Maddie flinched, it wouldn’t be fair to not answer after she asked Marcy the same thing. “I don’t want to get into the details,” she clarified beforehand, “but there was something about myself I wanted to change. Magic was my only option.” 

It also in my mind gives Maddie a clear personal example of Magic being able to change lives for the better, a belief she established in the episode Cursed.

@Tired_VWORP. I appreciate the sass, always love your comments. For your question it's a mix of things that muddled Sprig's memory. Part of it was yes he hurt himself a lot back then. Part of it was that it was years ago and no one gave him a really clear answer, and he didn't think to ask for one. 

---

Final Thoughts

Well we are officially halfway through the season now, this is basically the closer to Season 1A. Marcy is well established in Wartwood and is tolerated, if not fully accepted by the townsfolk. She has made a number of close friends and more importantly found a home.. Things are going alright for Marcy. 

Tune in next week when things go wrong. 

Chapter 11: Toad Tax

Summary:

Marcy and friends uncover corruption in the local government.

- Marcy's Journal -

Day 52 in Amphibia,

The Plantars accepted me as one of their own!!! <3 Not only that, but our family is even cooler than I thought! In addition to a legacy of being passionate agriculturalists, it seems like half the family lived second lives as some kind of mad scientist, soldier of fortune, or adventurer! 

I am so glad I didn’t scour that entire dungeon when I found it. Dungeon delving is the coolest family bonding activity ever!!!

[The rest of the page is filled with attempts at a signature, including ‘Marcy Wu-Plantar,’ ‘Marcy Plantar-Wu,’ and one that has been vigorously erased and then also crossed out which once read ‘Marcy Boonchuy-Plantar.’]

[The next page begins a massive entry on the various true histories of past Plantars that had been hidden in the dungeon beneath the family home.]

---

Marcy swung a rope with a little grappling hook on the end and tossed it into the canopy above her. It wrapped around the upper branch of a tree and she pulled on it to make sure it was secure.

"You can do it, Marcy!" Sprig encouraged. The other World Hoppers hung out nearby. Ivy fiddled with Marcy’s Shift, playing one of her fighting games. Maddie largely ignored the spectacle, instead reading over some of the more advanced curses in her grimoire. Polly was the only other one training, practicing swinging a morning star that they had looted from Pollyana's training room. 

Marcy gripped the rope tightly, aided by her new leather gloves, and placed her foot on the trunk of the tree. She leaned back and began to hoist herself up, carefully balancing her weight against the trunk as she started to ascend. Before she made it halfway up, she felt the lactic acid start to burn in her arms. It was still a lot better than she could have done in gym class six-weeks ago. 

Marcy’s coordination was definitely still her biggest obstacle. Her foot slipped out from under her halfway up, and she desperately kicked out to try to regain her footing but only succeeded in pushing herself away. She dangled helplessly for a few moments before the strain on her arms became too much and she was forced to let herself drop. She staggered as she landed, but Sprig darted forward to keep her from toppling over. 

Maddie blindly reached out and marked another tally on the chalkboard. One column with a dozen or so ticks labeled ‘Fell’ against a second column labeled ‘Success’ with no ticks. "Another miss," she said with a subdued grin. 

"It must be really inconvenient for humans to be so bad at jumping," Sprig said, looking at the rope structure. "Want me to grab that for you?" Marcy nodded and Sprig jumped to the high branch in two bounds, where he swiftly unwound the grappling hook so he could toss it back down to Marcy. She started coiling the rope back up. 

"How do you get anywhere?" Polly asked, taking a break from her own practice.

"We build stairs, mostly… or bring ladders," Marcy explained. "But yeah, maybe we could make a jumping potion, this clearly isn’t working."

"So," Ivy grinned as a victory tune played at the end of her match. "We still on for camping out next week?" 

"We better be!" Polly said excitedly. "I've only been waiting for forever!" 

Marcy chuckled. "Polly, it's just a camping trip, I hope you're not disappointed if nothing crazy happens," Marcy cautioned. They had all convinced their guardians to let them try camping on their own up near the cleansing waters. Apparently there was a pool out there that had healing properties that Marcy and Maddie wanted to check out. Mr. Flour, Hop Pop, and Felicia would be nearby, but the kids would have a chance to set up camp and rough it out in the wild without too much supervision. 

"Pu-lease," Polly waved a dismissive flipper. "You're a trouble magnet, Marcy. You'll find a way to make it exciting one way or another," she insisted. 

Marcy wasn't totally sure how to take that, but Polly seemed happy, so she decided it was a good thing.

Their little gathering spot was just a short distance from the road and Marcy looked up as the familiar sound of a rolling cart passed by. A trio of toads rode in a narrow, chariot-like wagon. Bird skulls with elongated beaks flanked the driver’s seat, and spiked wheels churned up the soft dirt road. A large spider pulled the cart forward. Steering the cart was a red toad in a well-worn breast plate with scale mail. Behind him sat two others: a green toad with long green braided hair in lightweight leather armor and a toad covered head to toe in scavenged, ill-fitting half-plate wearing what looked like a small oven as a helmet. All three wore a sash with a badge of the kingdom on it. Their cart was heading towards Wartwood. 

"Oh! Toad warriors!" Marcy pointed them out excitedly, gathering the attention of the others. She had read a lot about them in the last couple days. In the dungeons, she had found out that Sprig's Great Great Great Great Uncle was Kip Plantar, a castle architect. He had helped design Toad Tower back when it was originally going to be run by the frogs of the valley. 

Ivy sidled up next to Marcy. "Ugh…" she said, giving a disgusted shake of her head. 

"Thugs with badges," Maddie commiserated.

Marcy was a little surprised by their reactions. "Don't they… protect the valley?" she asked gently. According to what she’d read, the toads hunted the most dangerous creatures in the valley. They also collected the taxes that were sent on to Newtopia.

Ivy shook her head. "I don't know if you noticed all the frog bones in the woods, Marcy, but we pretty much fend for ourselves out here," she explained, gesturing to the wildlife-filled swamp around them. "The toads just sit in their tower until they get bored, then come out to collect whatever they feel they're owed." Ivy handed Marcy her Shift. "I'm gonna go give everyone a heads up. Mom'll want to put the expensive china somewhere safe."

"Ditto," Maddie rasped, closing her book and standing up. “Last time they came through they ate all of our pastry dough… raw,” she said, disgusted. “‘Sides, looks like rain’s coming." Maddie glanced up at the sky. 

Marcy followed her gaze; clouds were indeed gathering overhead. Still, they probably had a couple hours. 

Sprig scooped up Polly. "Come on Marcy, Hop Pop'll want to get us all back home before the rain starts." 

Marcy looked back at the toad warriors before nodding regretfully. She really wanted to interview them, to get their side of things. Most of the books Hop Pop owned hardly seemed unbiased on the subject of the toad clans. She wanted to understand the conflict better before she went about trying to fix it. 

Still, she didn't want them all caught in the rain on the way home. Marcy grabbed Polly’s bucket and morning star and they all cut a path towards town.

Hop Pop sat on Bessie’s saddle, working on a crossword of some kind. "Hey kids, how'd your little meeting go?" he asked curiously. 

"Pretty good!" Sprig said, hopping up into the saddle. He set Polly down next to Hop Pop. "We figured out what provisions we should gather for our trip next week."

"Sounds like you're taking this pretty seriously," Hop Pop said, impressed.

"Well you know: measure twice, cut once," Sprig said with a casual shrug.

"Planning ahead solves problems before they happen," Marcy added and she and Sprig pointed finger guns at each other. 

"How responsible!" Hop Pop nodded sagely before giving Marcy a knowing wink.

Marcy beamed with pride, but unfortunately her good mood was quickly dampened by the sound of whispering behind her back. Something about the flamethrower incident. She turned to the source of the whispers and the two frogs stopped speaking, pretending they had been minding their own business. 

Marcy sighed. Hushed conversations and fearful gossip was still a common occurrence whenever she came to town. 

Her reputation was definitely… mixed at this point. Most Wartwoodians had accepted that she wasn't an evil spirit and tolerated her, but that didn't mean they liked her. She was still a weird outsider they'd prefer to be elsewhere. 

Outside of the Plantars, Ivy, and Maddie, she could count on one hand the people who accepted her into the community. The Sundews and the Flours liked her well enough. Well, Mr. Flour did, anyways - the triplets still gave her the stink eye whenever she came over. Marcy suspected that was more due to jealousy over hanging out with Maddie than anything about Marcy herself. Then there was Loggle, who still thought she was a spirit, but it didn't bother him. It was fun talking about woodcraft and gadgets with him.

That… wasn't a whole lot of people. She wanted to get closer to more people, but it was really hard. A lot of people were still pretty intimidated by what she did to the mantis. Usually she wouldn't let what others thought bother her, but her family would have to deal with living with the weird creature everyone avoided. If only they’d give her a chance…

As she pondered this, she heard the consistent sound of a chisel on stone. Marcy looked over to the nearly finished statue in town square. It was yet another depiction of Mayor Toadstool, this time kissing a tadpole held up by a small child. She imagined it was mostly funded by the money he had fleeced from everyone with the rent increase. Hop Pop had to shut down the family stand, and this was what they had to show for it? 

"See anything interesting while you all were gabbing?" Hop Pop asked. 

"Some toads," Marcy provided. "Looked like they were coming to town."

"Toads?" He shifted his gaze over to Sprig. "From the tower?" Sprig nodded and Hop Pop's brow furrowed. "Now Marcy, I know you have a way of doggedly pursuing things that interest you," Hop Pop started diplomatically. 

“It is fundamental to my very soul, yes," Marcy agreed. 

"But please listen to me when I say, stay away from those warriors. They're bad news. They’ll take a swipe at you just for looking different." 

"Wouldn't that be novel?" Marcy mumbled, remembering her first day interacting with the folks of Wartwood. 

"I assure you, it would," Hop Pop countered seriously. "The folks here are superstitious, yes, some even fear you," he said compassionately. "It's not fair, I know. But those toads don't look for reasons to hurt people, they look for excuses," Hop Pop reiterated. 

Marcy considered the words seriously. It was hard to put aside everyone's collective worries over the warriors. The frogs might be a bit biased against the toads, but that didn't mean she shouldn't be careful. "Alright, Hop Pop. I'll steer clear." 

"Good. Luckily, we got all our taxes paid already, so we got nothing to worry about. Them collectors only come thumping around the farmlands if we don't pay. Let’s head back, I got everything we need to start pickling what remains of our crops. We might have a few coppers banked, but that doesn’t mean we should be wasteful."

Marcy hummed thoughtfully. "I'll catch up in a little bit, I just remembered an errand I wanted to run,” she said.

"You sure? Looks like rain's coming," Hop Pop said with mild concern. "Can it wait?"

"Not really," Marcy said apologetically. “But don't worry, I remembered my umbrella!" She patted her shoulder bag. 

"Well, if you're sure… Don’t be out too late," Hop Pop said, picking up the reins.

Sprig and Polly exchanged a look, then nodded. Sprig hopped down from the wagon. "I'll join you. Four hands are better than two, right?"

Hop Pop sighed but didn’t try to stop him. "Try to be back before the rain comes." Polly gave a little wave as Bessie started back towards the farm.

As soon as Hop Pop was out of sight, Sprig turned to Marcy. “So, what're you actually doing?” 

Marcy smiled. "That transparent, huh? I'm gonna study the warriors," Marcy explained. Sprig opened his mouth to argue and she quickly continued. "From a distance! I'll stay out of sight and see what they’re up to. It should only take a few minutes. From what I read they should just come in, retrieve the tax money, and be on their way." Even if I can’t have a one-on-one conversation with them, the chance to see how they act could still be interesting.

Sprig sighed, resigned to Marcy's curious whims. "Alright, but I'm gonna stay by you," he insisted. “You aren't exactly Ms. Stealth, y’know?"

"Sure, happy to have you along!" She pulled out her notebook. Marcy heard raised voices calling out about the approaching toads. Sprig, true to his word, dragged both of them into cover. 

She started to record her observations by drawing differences she noticed between them and the toads in town, namely Toadstool and Stumpy. The contrasts between them and the tower toads were… stark. 

The toads jumped off their cart, shooting intimidating glares at any frog who still lingered in the area. The green toad bumped into the red one and the latter immediately started yelling at the first. Soon it was laughed off and forgotten. Once the argument had finished, the green toad picked up a random piece of sharp wood from the ground and used it to pick at her teeth. The armored toad just stood there, breathing heavily enough that Marcy could hear it from their hiding spot. 

It soon occurred to her that this was more like observing the grosser boys from her middle school than some esteemed fantasy warrior culture. 

She watched as the toads entered Town Hollow, where the mayor worked. "Well, that was kind of underwhelming," Marcy announced, putting a period on the last of her observations. 

"Well, don't say we didn't warn ya, Marcy. The toads from the tower are gross, mean, and rude," Sprig said with a shrug.

"But why?" Marcy mused to herself as she leaned against the building they were hiding behind.

"Dunno, it's always been that way." Sprig’s tone was almost disbelieving, like she was asking why the sun rose each morning, or why the rain came. 

As she contemplated that, the door to the mayor's house slammed open and the toad warriors filed out. The red one looked over a list in his hands as Toadstool appeared in the doorway with a helpless expression. "I'm sorry to give you the extra work, but you know how stingy those frogs can be." 

"I do, but that's why you're here, to get them to cough it up," the red one said with barely-repressed hostility. "This is going to take all day!"

"I like it!" the green one chimed in. "Seeing those frogs' faces when you take some old junk. Priceless!" She chuckled darkly. 

Toadstool nodded. "Well, I’ll leave you to it. Happy hunting!" he said before closing the door to Town Hollow. 

The toads climbed back on their cart, and Marcy's brow furrowed. "Wait… where’s the tax money?" Marcy whispered, mostly to herself. 

"Maybe they pick it up somewhere else?" Sprig offered. 

Marcy frowned, watching as they headed just down the street, stopping by the first house. They kicked down the door and there was a shout of alarm from the resident inside. Then they started to bring stuff out to their cart, throwing it into the back. 

"What…? They’re only allowed to do that if someone doesn't pay their taxes!" she said in a hushed whisper, half-standing up.

Sprig pulled her back down out of sight. "Yeah. Marcy. There's a reason no one likes them coming to town," Sprig said with weary acceptance. 

"Something's not right… Let's keep following them," Marcy said, stepping out from their hiding spot before Sprig could object. He frowned but followed after Marcy, pulling her behind a closed stand when she was almost too late to conceal herself from the toads. 

The scene repeated at each house in town. The toads would storm in and loot the place of anything they fancied. They stopped by the Sundews’ and took an entire keg of Bear-Tea and half of their less-fine china. They even stopped by the bakery and confiscated metal pans and tins, chortling about melting them down into something useful. 

Maddie glowered at them as they left, a single long green strand of hair in hand as she retreated inside. 

It got easier to hide as the raid went on - a crowd had formed and was now following the toads, protesting weakly about how they had paid their taxes. At each house the toads crossed out one item on their list. Sprig wouldn't let Marcy get close enough to read it, but she was pretty sure it was a list of names from town, and judging by the size and length of the list it must have included everyone in Wartwood!

"Something’s fishy about all this, Sprig," Marcy said with a scowl. "There's no way nobody in town paid their taxes. Frog knows Toadstool bleeds every copper he can."

"Yeah…" Sprig said, his own voice now curious as well. "The toads usually don't hit up this many houses. What can we do, though?"

"We can investigate!" Marcy said with a confident smile. "I bet Toadstool is behind this… I'll get Maddie once the collectors move on, you go and get Ivy." Sprig nodded, they quietly did their secret handshake and split up.

Maddie promised to come join them as soon as her curse was finished. Sprig came back with Ivy and the three of them made their way to town hall together.

Town Hollow felt out of place compared to the rest of Wartwood. Marcy, Sprig, and Ivy passed through the wrought iron gate and approached the front door, which was flanked by two statues of frogs holding scrolls and quills. Moss and fungus grew over the walls and roof like most buildings in Wartwood, but there was a grandeur to the main door. It was made of solid oak wood, had brass handles, and its decorative embellishments were all gilded. 

Marcy pushed open the front door and stepped inside. “Mayor Toadstool?” she called out. “We have some questions about the tax money!” 

There was no response. Marcy looked around; the bottom floor was largely dedicated to an open town hall layout, a meeting place for the citizens of Wartwood. However, since Toadstool rarely if ever consulted the frogs of town, it was mostly a storage area for his abundance of junk. 

They headed up one of the twin sets of stairs that led up to the living and office space of the building. The staircase was draped with a rich red carpet. As they reached the second floor, the decadence only escalated. There were a number of gaudy portraits of the mayor in beautiful picture frames. Every door frame and handle was gilded. Bits and bobs made of fine metals lay forgotten on hall tables and furniture. 

All paid for by the clearly overtaxed people of Wartwood. 

"Huh, doesn't seem like anyone's home…" Sprig said, looking about. 

"Where else would Toadstool be at this hour, though?" Ivy mused.

"Probably up to no good," Marcy guessed as they arrived at the main office. She listened closely at the door, but couldn't hear anyone inside. She tried the handle, but it was locked. "If we're gonna find evidence, it's gonna be in here," she said, kneeling and opening her bag. 

Sprig turned to Ivy. "If I jump-boosted you from outside, do you think you could get in through the window?"

"Maybe?" Ivy said doubtfully. "I'd be able to get up there, but I don't think those windows open. I'd have to break one." 

"Wouldn't give us much time to look if someone heard," Sprig agreed. "Hey Marcy, do you-?" he paused, seeing what Marcy was up to. "What's all that for?"

Marcy had pulled out a small clinking bundle wrapped in an old wash cloth. She loosened the twine and rolled the cloth out flat, revealing a number of small metal implements with odd hooks and bits at the end of them. Another Plantar heirloom from Kelly ‘the Kid’ Plantar, rogue extraordinaire. She kneeled down next to the keyhole and inspected the lock. 

"Oh cool!" Ivy said. "You can pick locks?" She sat down next to Marcy to watch as she worked. 

"Sure can!" Marcy said with a bit of pride. She started carefully poking at the tumblers with one of her picks, testing their strength. 

"Woah," Sprig said quietly. "Who taught you? Did times get tough in your world? Did you turn to a life of crime to survive?" Sprig asked, clearly infatuated with the idea of Marcy having a mysterious past. 

"No," Marcy chuckled. "The summer before sixth grade I was given a house key, but I kept forgetting it in my room," she explained. "So I learned how to open my front door another way."

"Oh," Sprig said, clearly disappointed. “Couldn’t someone open it for you?"

Marcy paused for a moment as she switched tools. "It was just me and my parents, and they were… busy," she settled on, now working the lock with two picks. "I didn't think I would get much use out of it, but Sasha had a lot of ideas for it once school started up again."

Ivy looked at Sprig. "Sasha's one of the human friends she came here with, right?"

Sprig nodded to Ivy before turning back to Marcy. "What kinds of things?" he asked, jumping on her shoulder and leaning over to watch her work. 

"Oh, all sorts… We opened the rooftop stairwell access and got a hangout spot on the roof. We snuck into the teachers’ lounge to change Sasha's grade after she bombed a test. Broke into the lockers of a clique of older girls who were bullying Anne." Marcy winced, remembering the drama. That friend group did not recover once Sasha was through with them. "Wasn't expecting my summer hobby to be so versatile when I booted up that Toob tutorial." 

She felt her tools catch on the tumblers and applied pressure. She was rewarded by a satisfying thunk. Wow, these don’t even begin to compare to modern Earth locks. "Not surprised it's useful here, though." She grinned and pushed the door open. "Lockpicking is an essential skill for any resourceful adventurer." She quickly wrapped up her tools as Ivy and Sprig went in ahead of her.

One side of the room was dominated by an opulent, granite-top desk. A large approval rating tracker was pinned to the wall next to it. Shunted into the corner of the room was a much smaller, though still well-crafted desk, overflowing with paperwork for Toadie. "Alright, let's find some evidence." The three started their search. Sprig looked through closets and drawers, seeing if the coppers were just being hidden somewhere. Ivy jumped up to Toadstool's desk to look over the sparse paperwork that was sitting on it. 

Marcy decided to investigate Toadie's desk; he seemed to do most of the actual work of running the town. She looked through the papers until she found a little, red, leather-bound ledger. She flipped through it and found a record of all the taxes that had been collected from the townsfolk. Each family name was neatly penciled in, and aside from one or two households, all had paid their taxes, rents, and fees on time. She flipped to 'P' to make sure her family was covered, and sure enough, Hop Pop had paid everything he owed. She frowned at the note that said they would no longer be paying rent for the stand. 

She slipped the ledger into her bag. It probably wouldn't be enough to stop the toad warriors, but it would be a good way to convince the townsfolk. 

"Why would you put an empty compartment on a statue?" Ivy asked from the desk. She and Sprig held a large scroll open together. Marcy approached the desk and they handed it to her. It was a blueprint of the newest statue in town square - a note on the sketch showed that there was a hinged door built into the statue’s butt that concealed a hollow cavity. 

Marcy blinked. There’s no way he’s that obvious, is there?

She walked over to the window and pushed aside the curtains to look down into town square. The statue that they had passed earlier was hidden behind a bunch of curtains. The square was empty; most of Wartwood was trailing after the toads. At that moment, by pure coincidence, she spotted Toadstool and Toadie rushing across the square. Toadie had a comically large bag of coppers balanced precariously on his back as they slipped behind the curtains. A few moments later, they both reemerged and rushed off the way they came. 

Marcy felt her blood boil. The absolute nerve to hide the embezzled taxes in plain sight. She looked down at Sprig and Ivy. From the distasteful grimaces on their faces, they’d both pieced together the same thing she had. She smiled at them. "How would you two feel about helping me take the Mayor down a peg?"

---

Toadstool took a deep breath as he rounded the last corner on the way to his treasure trove. It felt like he was cramping all over his body. Still, it was the last time he would need to do this today, and that kept him going. "Come on Toadie! We're almost done!" 

Toadie, who was having difficulty running with the heavy sack of coppers on his back, replied in a haggard whisper. “Right behind you, sir!" 

Toadstool nodded, readying himself to make the final sprint, but stopped dead in his tracks. The curtains around his statue had been pulled aside. Looking into his treasure trove was the strange, awful creature that the Plantars had let live on their farm. He shivered, still remembering the burning mantis reflecting off that thing's eyes. She was with the Plantar boy and the Sundew girl. 

The creature told them something and they rushed off in different directions. The black-haired creature smiled triumphantly. 

She knew. He didn't know how she found out, but she knew. If he wasn't quick, then she was going to get him in a whole mess of trouble. It was too late to keep the taxes, those two brats would be telling the whole town if his guess was right. All he could do now was try and mitigate the fallout.

"Toadie, put that back where we hid it, but first get me my messagesquito."

---

Marcy forced herself to take deep breaths as she stood on the plinth the statue rested on, mentally rehearsing what she was about to say. Public speaking had never been her forte. She loved talking about things with her friends, but when it was a bunch of strangers or even acquaintances she got anxious. When she had to give a class presentation, she tried to just focus on Anne or Sasha and pretend she was just talking to them. 

But that wouldn't work here. She had to make eye contact with everyone if she wanted to convince them of what the mayor had done. 

She still had a few minutes. She’d sent Sprig to fetch the tax collectors before they got to the farm, and Ivy to rally the townsfolk. 

"Should I address the townspeople first or the tax collectors?" she mumbled to herself as she paced back and forth in front of the statue. "The toads might have more of a temper. But they’re not really the ones I'm trying to impress." A few people started to arrive, and she gave a nervous wave. If she did this right, she was sure she'd be accepted as a part of Wartwood. She felt a few rain droplets and looked up as the rain started to fall. She knelt down to retrieve her umbrella from her shoulder bag, which she’s set down at the base of the statue.

To her surprise, she heard the rolling of a heavy laden wagon approach. That was… faster than anticipated. She was surprised that Sprig had managed to cover so much ground so quickly. Marcy took a steadying breath as they spotted her. The red one hit the green one in the arm and gestured wordlessly at Marcy. The green one grumbled and jumped off the wagon. 

Okay, not a huge crowd yet, but they shouldn't be too far behind. "Hello, collectors for the crown!" she greeted, placing one hand on the seam on the statue where the taxes were hidden, "I've found the taxes you were looking for!" She aimed for boisterous, but her voice wavered as the long-haired toad made a beeline for her, club in hand. She opened the hidden compartment revealing a horde of coppers stored within. The toad was almost to her now, she could look inside for herself. "I also know who hid them from you, it was-" Marcy didn’t see the blow coming until it was already too late. 

The green toad jabbed the head of her club into Marcy's solar plexus. The wind was knocked out of her lungs and she doubled over in pain. Her umbrella fell to the wayside as she dropped to her hands and knees. The toad casually strolled past her as she tried to climb back to her feet and struck her in the back with the butt end of her club. Marcy collapsed face-first into the mud at the base of the statue. Before she could try to push herself up again, the toad planted a boot on her back and pressed down, forcing her flat against the ground. 

The red toad, along with his armored companion, walked forward. The larger crowd of townsfolk that had been following them started to arrive, spurred on by Ivy. She was doing her best to rile them up, just like Marcy had planned, but stopped in confusion when she saw Marcy gasping for air on the ground.

Toadstool emerged from behind a nearby building with a very affected look of regret. "Oh good, you got my message," he said, addressing the red toad. "I'm so glad you could catch the thief in the act, Bog." He looked down at Marcy with a smug expression. "I can't believe that after we let you into our community, you would steal the taxes for yourself!" He raised his voice so everyone could hear. “But I guess that's what you get when you let a monster wander about."

Marcy looked up, horrified and outraged, and shouted out despite the boot on her back. "What!? When would I have had the chance? You took the taxes and hid them!" Marcy said, pointing up at the statue. “You had means and- ack!” She stopped as the toad pressed down on her back, making it hard to speak.

Bog looked at the mayor impatiently. "Yes, and as I recall…" he drawled, giving the mayor an annoyed scowl, "…this morning you told me that the townsfolk hadn't paid their taxes, not that they'd been ‘stolen.’" 

Toadstool looked nervous as the collective eyes of the townsfolk turned on him. "Well, I was so upset, I must have misspoke," Toadstool insisted shamelessly. 

Bog largely ignored Toadstool as he blustered at the crowd of unimpressed onlookers. He instead leaned down to take a closer look at Marcy. "Hey, Fens," he said to the green toad. "Do you still have that message from the captain?" 

"Uh, sure? One sec…" Fens started digging around in her pockets. She drew out a crumpled up piece of parchment, then opened it up and looked down at Marcy. "You think it's the same creature?" Fens asked, handing the paper over. 

"Long spindly legs. Weird nose bump. Clothes, too…" he gestured with the paper in hand, just enough of an angle for Marcy to get a look. It was a crude drawing of a human. It had a skirt and shirt just like hers, but there was one major difference. 

"Hair’s wrong," Fens objected mildly. 

Bog rolled his eyes. “So it got a haircut. I'm not going to report to Grime that 'we found that creature you've been obsessing over, but it had different hair so we let it go!'"

Marcy felt a chill run through her veins. What do they want with Anne?  

All around them, an argument had begun to develop, with the crowd yelling at Toadstool as he vehemently denied any culpability.

"Hey! Let her go!" Marcy heard Sprig's voice cut through the crowd as he started to jump on people's shoulders to get closer. 

The third toad held the crowd at bay, but that might not contain them for long. They were angry and upset - maybe Marcy could slip away in the confusion. 

Bog snorted out a huff of air. He hefted his war hammer off of his back and in one brutal swing shattered the leg of Toadstool's statue. It tilted to one side and crashed in a shower of dust and coppers. "Quiet!" his voice reverberated and silenced the crowd. "I don't really care who took the taxes," he started menacingly, but then his voice shifted into one of gentle authority. "However, it's here now. We will stay long enough for anyone whose property was taken as collateral to retrieve what's theirs."

A murmur went through the crowd, but it wasn't one of discontent or anger anymore. 

Sprig looked around from his position at the front of the crowd. "What about Marcy?!" he demanded. 

Bog rubbed at the space between his eyes. “Who?”

"Me…" Marcy wheezed, only to be stomped back into the mud by Fens, who chortled cruelly. 

"Ah, yes, she is going to be taken into custody," Bog informed Sprig casually. 

"What, who-?" Hop Pop pushed his way through the crowd as he spoke. His eyes went wide when he saw Marcy. "What’s goin’ on?"

"Toadstool's framing Marcy for stealing the tax money!" Sprig said angrily. 

Hop Pop's face filled with indignant wrath as he marched over to the mayor. "Toadstool! You have gone too far this time!"

"Hopediah, we all played nice with that creature you took in, but it's time to face facts. She’s just bad news," Toadstool said with a shrug.

"I'll show you bad news!” Polly called from Bessie behind the crowd, morning star in hand. "Hey! Someone throw me over there!" she demanded. 

Bog let out a grunt of frustration and slammed the butt of the hammer on the stone plinth, cracking it down the side. "Hey!" Bog looked between the Plantars. "I'll say again. I don't care who hid the taxes,” he said slowly and clearly. "This creature is wanted by the tower for treason and…" he looked down at the paper again, "…espionage. We will be taking it with us."

"Ha!" Sprig said. "There's no way we'd let you take her!" he said, looking around the crowd expectantly. When there was no response, his face shifted to one of worry. "…Right?"

Marcy could see the tone of the moment had shifted. Whatever frustrations the folk of Wartwood held had been shifted onto Toadstool and then doused by the promised return of their possessions. The accusation of treason had stomped out any chance there was to rally them to her aid. Sprig looked around for support and was met with a sea of sympathetic, but hesitant faces. They were scared, and they weren't going to stick their necks out for an outsider.

Marcy scanned the crowd. She saw Ivy desperately arguing with her mom, trying to get her to help, while Felicia urgently tried to reason with her daughter. When Ivy turned to start towards Marcy by herself, Felicia grabbed her in a martial arts hold and pulled her away. She made fearful, apologetic eye contact with Marcy before disappearing into the crowd. 

On the other side of the crowd Maddie was already gathered in her father’s burly arms. Maddie struggled, bit, and cursed at her father to let her go. He frowned deeply but held on tight. He squeezed his eyes shut and walked away, carrying Maddie in his arms. 

A part of Marcy knew she should feel betrayed… but she didn't. She sympathized with them. They were just trying to protect their kids. She looked back at the Plantars, who were calling for her release, begging the toads, and, in Polly’s case, threatening violence and felt that same fear. Dread at the violence that could be inflicted upon her loved ones. "Sprig!" she choked out. "Please, stop!" 

"But-" Sprig sputtered, "-but they have to be mistaken - you didn’t do anything wrong!" he insisted, his voice upset and heaving. 

"I-I know," Marcy agreed, voice choked with fear as she made eye contact with both Sprig and Hop Pop. "But I don't want any of you to get hurt…" 

Sprig started to argue back, but his voice cut off at a movement from Bog. Marcy felt the rain abate slightly as the war hammer came to hover just over her head. "Yes, 'Sprig'…" he said with mock familiarity, "…we wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt, Would we?”  

Fear seized Marcy's chest. She shut her eyes against fresh tears, and her hands curled into the wet dirt as she tried not to move a single inch. 

Sprig looked on, fists clenched as his fear battled anger and the tears on his face mixed with the rain. After a moment, his shoulders slumped and he looked away.

Marcy let out a shuddering sob as the hammer moved away. 

Fens let out a cruel, ugly laugh from above Marcy as she pressed her foot ever more firmly into Marcy’s back. "Hah! Pretty smart for a critter." 

---

The wagon was mostly empty of citizens’ possessions, now. The toads had moved Marcy to the cart as soon as there was enough room for her. Her legs were bound with heavy iron manacles that had been chained to a hook built into the wagon. If she tried to run, or even just fell out, while the cart was moving… it wouldn't be pretty. The rain had stopped, leaving the scent of metal in the air.

One by one, frogs came to retrieve their confiscated belongings. Marcy watched them go. Many of them looked at her with pity and sympathy in their eyes, and a few even offered some apologetic or comforting words. Looked like her plan had worked. It was the kindest any of them had ever been to her. 

Maddie's father came by without his daughter, wise enough to know Maddie would have tried something otherwise. Marcy asked him to pass on a message to Maddie: to collect her research notes and use them as she saw fit. He nodded and slipped her her favorite pastry from the bakery, a poppypede muffin. She managed to take a few bites before Fens slapped it into the mud.

Felicia and Ivy came by a little later. Felicia wished Marcy a safe trip, giving them both a moment to pretend. Ivy cried angrily, trying to force out some kind of goodbye but unable to vocalize it. Marcy wished her luck with her training, not really ready to say goodbye, either. 

Eventually, the cart was just about empty, and the few items that remained were unceremoniously dumped out of the cart to make room for the taxes. 

The whole time, the Plantars stood a short distance away. The three of them looked on helplessly as the townsfolk left one by one. Hop Pop had a vice grip on Sprig’s shoulder and held Polly in his free arm. He wore a look of shame. 

Polly glared angrily at each frog that came to retrieve their stuff. She wasn't crying, but she was closer than Marcy had ever seen her. Sprig held no such reservations and sobbed openly. He held Marcy's shoulder bag in both arms, clutching it tight to his chest. 

Marcy could sense the imminent departure of the toads and turned to face the Plantars, trying to put on a brave face. "I…" She felt her throat close up and schooled herself, taking a little breath. "I'll get this all cleared up, alright? I’ll be back in a few days," she said, trying to make it sound like she believed it. Everyone knew the punishment for treason.

"We'll leave a light on for you." Hop Pop nodded, playing into the fiction like the actor he was. Sprig just let out a hiccuping sob while Polly stared at the ground, frustrated.

The three toads climbed aboard the cart and Marcy felt the weight of her departure settle on her, heavy and suffocating. Tears seeped out against her will as she took in the little frogs that had given her a home. She spoke quietly so that her voice wouldn't crack. "Thanks… for everything."

The spider let out a shrill cry and the wagon rattled forward. Hop Pop stayed where he was as he watched her go, but Sprig wrestled out of his hold to run to the edge of town to keep Marcy in sight for as long as possible. As he finally stumbled to a stop at the edge of town, Marcy gave him a little wave.

Once she was sure she was out of sight, she crumpled. Heaving sobs overcame her as she curled into herself. The countryside rolled past as the cart trundled along the road. The sun slowly passed beneath the western mountains around the time they entered the desolate Toad Lands. By then, Marcy was too tired to keep crying.

As the cart rounded a mountain pass, a gust of wind passed over the cart. Marcy shivered as the cold cut straight through her t-shirt. She reached up to the hoodie sleeves tied around her neck, gently undid the knot and pulled her arms through both sleeves. She didn't bother with zipping it up as she hunkered down beneath the lip of the cart. 

Looming ahead of them, lording over the dry, desolate land, a defiant stone spire awaited their arrival.

Notes:

Edit 5/20/2024: Chapter Beta Read by Sonar009

Ah, poor Marcy. Smart to try and expose the corruption of the mayor, but things like truth and and evidence only matter if the system isn't fundamentally broken. While helping people is nice it doesn't have that same inspirational effect that brave defiance and a rousing speech would have. Lacks a bit of Heart, you know?

Welcome to Season 1b everyone, we're going off the rails.

Not gonna lie, that last scene was tough to write, might of teared up. And I realized while editing it was even worse! Cause Marcy's whole motivation for coming to Amphibia was so she could avoid saying goodbye to her loved ones (Anne/Sasha). Despite everything now she still has to say goodbye to loved ones anyways. Ugh, fanficion is great. Love this hobby.
That design change is gonna stick by the way, Marcy's wearing her sweatshirt normally again, though unzipped.
I cannot believe I had this queued up a day after an episode where something terrible happens to Marcy in Canon. Wild.

---

Comments

Let me just say genuinely: To everyone, new and old who wrote comments last week, know that I deeply appreciate you. Your comments fill me with joy that people are enjoying this fic. I can't respond to everyone but know I really appreciate it. 

@NarfoOnTheNet 
Re: Wally and Marcy Chapter: I love canon Wally, but he just does not vibe with Marcy in this AU. First encounter was a misunderstanding about her being a spirit. Second encounter she leapt from the shadows and burned a monster to death. Third encounter she was possessed by a beast and almost ate his face. I know I was in control of all that, but to be honest I don't think Marcy has as much to learn/gain from Wally as Anne did. 
Re: Marcy's Parents: Marcy not bringing them up is very much intentional and will be explored down the line. As for the Plantars: Sprig and Polly are pretty sure they are dead, and extend the same courteously Marcy/Anne extend to them by not bringing them up. Hop Pop isn't so confident they are dead, but has picked up they're a sore point for Marcy as early as Chapter 4. 

@That_Introverted_Guy : Glad the chapter landed emotionally for you :D 
Re: Table Tops: I do play and run table top RPG's, mostly online. While I enjoy D&D with my main group, I do prefer more narratively driven systems, my favorite being games made in the Forged in the Dark system, of which I am running/developing one called Griffin's and Gold :D. Also, as a fun fact, my username came from me playing a super stripped down version of D&D in elementary school and being unable to spell 'Diskette'(my character had turned into a Diskette, it was really loose rules.)

@Ku: You were right, Toad Tax is a very important episode! Unfortunately for Marcy, it didn't go as well as it did for Anne. 
Re: Anne vis-à-vis Toad Tower: Well, I think context clues from this chapter rendered that question redundant, but I hope you look forward to the explanation we will be getting next chapter. :)

@Fell_Crusader
Re: Spelling and Grammar: Thank you for saying its good! Grammar has been a weakness of mine for a lot of my writing career. I spend the Saturday before posting doing a full edit to catch as many errors as I can before posting, so its a huge relief to know that effort isn't in vain 

@Everyone Who Expressed Fear About this Chapter: How'd I do?

So this wasn't a comment, but @mituni-art on Tumblr did Fanart from the first 3 chapters! Which is super cool. Go look at this good good art. 

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Final Thoughts

Me, carefully loading one last bullet into my Chekov's Revolver before clicking it shut: Hope y'all have been paying attention.

See ya next week. (Hopefully, this next one is gonna be a doozy, might take an extra week to get it right.)

Chapter 12: Toad Tower

Summary:

How far would you go for the ones you love?

Notes:

- Content Warning -

Marcy sat, curled up on wet straw that passed for a bed in Toad Tower. Her eyes felt red and puffy, it had been about two hours since she had been brought up the levels of the tower and thrown in this cell. Aside from the guard sitting on a stool nearby, no one had come to see her. The wind that blew through the window in the cell was cold and clung to the walls. She felt cold, no matter how tightly she tried to hunker down in her sweatshirt. 

Here she was...  adventure of a lifetime. In one of her games this would be a fun little side mission. She would be trapped here with stalwart allies and they would plot some way to escape. They would banter about what a mess they all were in, but everyone would have high spirits. Maybe there would be a little tension with whoever got them captured, but they would prove their worth by getting them out again...

But this wasn't one of her games. She was alone. 

Marcy didn't feel like a brave adventurer ready to combat the odds. She felt alone and scared. She wanted to be playing games with Sprig. Building some little contraption with Polly. Talking over plans for her garden with Hop Pop... She wanted to be home. 

Marcy shut her eyes and tried imagining, the stone cell didn't feel too different to her basement when she first arrived. She imagined the far off footfalls as the Plantars, doing their nightly chores, the house settling down. She rested her head on her knees and thought of tomorrow. Another day in the valley. 

"Uh, do you wanna hear a joke?"

Marcy blinked her eyes awake, the illusion spoiled. She looked up at the toad guard, baffled. He had spent most of their time together quietly fixing a drum of some sort. Marcy had been perfectly comfortable with them ignoring each other for the duration of his shift. She looked back at him, giving a noncommittal shrug, more out of confusion than anything else.

Taking her silence for agreement, he nodded, a grin on his face. "So, uh, what do you call a snail on a ship?"

Before Marcy could piece together what exactly was happening, the door burst open, banging off the stone wall and sending the green toad to standing attention. Marcy looked at the looming figure in the doorway. They were a toad with a mold green complexion, one eye glowed with a sinister glow while the other was a glassy gray, a large scar running above and below it. He wore a bronze armor and a tattered brown half cloak. 

"Captain Grime, sir!" the guard said, saluting, “I wasn't conversing with the prisoner, honest, I-"

"Percy?" his voice graveled with impatience. 

"Sir?"

"Leave."

Percy needed no  other encouragement and skedaddled out, slamming the door behind him. 

Grime's attention fixated on the cell Marcy was in and he started to stride over, the metal tip of his peg leg sounding against the stone. As he got close he considered Marcy, curled up on the stone in front of him and sneered, "You're not the one I'm looking for." 

Marcy just frowned back at him. 

"What are you? Who sent you to the valley?"

Marcy, too defeated to think of a lie, just answered, "a human. I did, technically, not the valley specifically but-" she shrugged.

"You did? So it was your agent who came skulking about my tower?" he said, unbelieving. 

"Anne was here?" Marcy asked quicker than her brain.

"So you do know of them. Where are they now? Where is the creature!?" the calm veneer, for a moment, breaks. 

"I don't know... I've been waiting for her to find me in Wartwood. I haven't seen her since we got separated almost 2 months ago."

"Wartwood?" Grime said the name like it was dung on his shoe, "what could you have possibly needed to do there for two months."

"Farming." she answered honestly. Grime let out a dismissive snort of disbelief, "why are you looking for Anne anyways? What did she do to you?" Marcy asked a little bitterly. 

"As if you don't already know..." he said in a disbelieving tone, "But sure, I'll indulge you with my side of things." Grime started to stalk around the cage like a predator. "Almost two moons ago I was returning from another dismal training mission with a handful of the slack jawed idiots in my command. When I spotted a creature spying on Toad Tower. Your… 'Anne' was it?" he asked but didn't wait for an answer. "I sent my guards to capture them, but despite the time and opportunity to surround them, they escaped." Marcy smiled before his next words crushed her, " At least Braddak was on the ball enough to wound the creature."

Marcy's hands curled into fists at the words but she tried to keep her breathing even. 

"Still, I thought it might be nice… a leisurely hunt tracking down a wounded animal." Grime gestured casually like it was a relatable feeling. "Oh how I underestimated them..." he glowered, his open gesture turning into a fist, "that creature managed to evade us for well over an hour, despite calling out the whole time. At the time I thought she was simply desperate, when in fact she was leading me into a trap ." His words became bitter, "I followed her voice directly into a mimic bird's nest." 

Marcy's eyes widened, remembering the giant bird from her first adventure out with Sprig. Anne had been there but she had gotten away. Thank frog.

"The bird set upon me and got my leg in its maw. I was able to crack open its beak with my war hammer, but the leg was beyond saving." he said, gesturing down at his leg, "they had to amputate." He kneeled down to be closer to Marcy's level, "Since then, she’s been in the wind. You are the first lead in over five weeks."

Marcy frowned, her gut bubbled with a mixture of emotions. Worry for where Anne was now. Relief that she was here in Anne's place. Anger at the violence this toad wanted to enact on her friend. 

Marcy knew for a fact that whatever else, Anne had not concocted some master trap. Two months ago would have put this right around when they arrived. Anne was probably scared and running out of fear.  

Grime scowled as Marcy stayed quiet, "Where is she!?" He shouted, grabbing the bars  enraged. Marcy flinched as she heard the squeal of the metal bending.

Marcy took a slow breath, "Sorry to disappoint. But like I said, I haven't seen her since we came to the valley."

"Hmph," Grime's disbelieving expression remained unchanged, but he stood up looking down in subdued anger, walking back towards the door. "I hope for your sake you're lying, cause otherwise you're useless to me." he said opening the door, "I'll have to find a use for you..." he looked back at her, a cruel smile on his lips, "and a hunter is always in want of good bait."

Grime left and a new guard came in, this one was less conversational. Marcy tried to fall asleep, as the night marched on. 

---

"What do you mean we can't go save Marcy!" Sprig shouted, frustrated. It had been a day since the toads took away Marcy and they had just been sitting there.

"I mean that I'll be going alone." Hop Pop said with a determined frown, "I'll go to Toad Tower and get them to let Marcy go."

"but-" Polly objected.

"But nothing! The toad lands are dangerous enough and I don't want either of you anywhere near them." Hop Pop said gravely. "I'm gonna go make sure Bessie is ready for the journey tomorrow, both of you please stay put." he said, his eyes distracted with worry. 

As Hop Pop left, Sprig gathered Polly in his arms and brought her upstairs.

"So, we're totally going after her, right?" Polly asked seriously as Sprig deposited her on his bed.

Sprig started to stuff his pillow under his blanket, "I am," Sprig said looking apologetically down at Polly, as she went to argue Sprig added, "if I'm gonna beat Hop Pop out there- and we both agree I need to do that before he gets himself killed bothering the toads, right?" Polly nodded grimly. "So, if I'm gonna beat him out there to save Marcy, I'll need you to run interference." He said seriously. Then gestured to the frog shaped lump in his bed,  "I'll be 'sulking in bed' and you will be right here, keeping me company."

Polly  nodded in understanding. She clearly didn't like it, but was willing to go along with. "Okay... but be careful, looking for a new brother would be a pain. We can't all go hunting after a spirit and find a new family member, you know?"

Sprig picked up the Pollywog and hugged her tight, "Love you too Polly." 

Just as he ran down towards the basement Polly called after him, "bring me back a souvenir!" 

That done he rushed down to Marcy's room grabbing her shoulder bag. He carefully removed all the books and notes and laid them on her desk. Then he went to her cabinet full of finished witchy stuff and started to stuff his bag with whatever he could fit. He didn't know what to do with most of this stuff, but Marcy would. Next, he grabbed the blueprints from Great Great Great Great Uncle Kip Plantar. Finally he adjusted the straps so that it would fit like a backpack. 

From above Sprig heard Hop Pop return and jumped towards the basement window. He crept out slowly and rushed across the Plantar fields. He got to the wall, hopped over and put his back against it. He waited for any kind of call or shout from the house for a few moments, but heard nothing. He let out a sigh of relief and started to make his way towards the forests to the west. 

As he got to a clearing he heard a rustle and paused looking about. Everything was quiet. This felt almost like an -

"Ambush!" Sprig turned to block but only felt the gentle tap of a karate chop. He peered through his arms to see Ivy there. "Hey Sprig."

Sprig smiled, happy to see a friend but also in somewhat of a rush. "Hey Ivy, sorry I don't have a lot of time today I have to- uh," he struggled for some kind of believable excuse. 

"Save Marcy?" 

Sprig jumped away as the raspy voice came from behind him. Maddie and Ivy both chuckled and fist bumped. This kind of collaboration was not going to be good for his heart, "yeah..." he admitted. "Don't try and stop me."

Ivy frowned, "You're planning on storming the tower alone, Sprig? That's unbelievably dangerous." 

"Yeah." Maddie agreed and Sprig bristled, "Sounds like a 3 frog job to me."

"Definitely." Ivy agreed. 

Sprig looked between the two as they smiled back at him. Then he held out his fist. The girls obliged and they performed the secret handshake, "World Hoppers, Go!" 

With that the three of them sprinted off into the forest, heading towards the Toad Lands. 

---

Hop Pop sighed as he settled into his chair for the night, his whole body felt heavy as the last rays of sunset filtered in through the window. All of Bessie's saddlebags were packed, food and supplies for a two day trip. He rubbed at his forehead, taking a slow deep breath. After all his vows to never let harm befall his family again. He just watched them carry Marcy off. 

Some guardian he was. 

Hop Pop wasn't sure what he was going to do when he got to Toad Tower. What he could do, say, or bribe to get them to let her go. He shook off the thoughts, even if he failed, he wouldn't forgive himself for not trying. He tried to distract himself, thinking over his preparations and thinking over everything he had packed. Then he snapped his fingers.

Marcy's shoulder bag! If he convinced them to let her go, it would probably be a comfort for her to have. 

He ventured into the basement, pulling the mushroom lights on and looked about. Marcy had really made herself at home. In one corner of the room sat Marcy's bed, a frame she cobbled together herself from scrap wood and stumps from around the farm, half embellished with a random mess of patterns. To another her alchemy lab setup, pages on her witchcraft stained from potion work. Then under the small window was a small table that was home to Petey the tomato plant and Zappy the zapapedle. He took a moment to feed both in Marcy's absence.  

He looked around for the bag, but was coming up empty. He went up the basement stairs and called up, "Sprig, where'd you put Marcy's stuff? I wanted to bring it with me tomorrow!" he waited for a response, but got none. He sighed, he knew Sprig wasn't happy about being barred from coming along, but this was getting ridiculous. Hop Pop hadn't heard a word out of him since he went out to check on Bessie. At least Polly was keeping him company, he started up the stairs, "Sprig I know your upset but-"

A heavy knock came to the door and Hop Pop called back, "in a minute!" he called and turned to address Sprig again, but the knocking became insistent. He scowled, hardly in the mood to deal with visitors. Who in town was callous enough to bother them today? He swore if it was Toadstool or that loathsome little sycophant of his, he was gonna beat them with his trowel. 

As he opened the door he found the concerned faces of Felicia Sundew and Aldor Flour. Aldor carrying the triplets in a sling on his back. Hop Pop took a breath, "Aldor, Felicia." he nodded, he couldn't remember the last time they all met together like this. Probably back when their eldest were all pollywogs. "This really isn't a good time."

"I- I know Hopediah," Felicia said, apologetic, but pressed on, taking in a shallow fearful breath, "it's just, have you or Sprig seen the girls?"  

He shook his head, distracted, "I haven't. I'd ask Sprig but he hasn't been talking to me all…" he paused as horror dawned on his face. "Oh sweet frog." He turned back inside, followed slowly by the other two scared parents. Hop Pop took the stairs 3 at a time, he stormed into Sprig's room and rushed over to the bed. Polly turned to him and was almost flipped off the bed when he ripped away the sheet to reveal a pillow and a red headed doll left where Sprig should be. 

Polly looked up at Hop Pop a little guiltily, "hehe..."

Hop Pop picked up the pollywog in a panic, "Polly, where's Sprig!?"

---

Four toads rode up the path to the tower, wagon laden with tax money from Lily Paddington, the wealthiest town in the valley. They sang old toad marching songs as they dreamed of warm beds and grog after their journey. Unaware of the stowaways hidden amongst their loot. 

On the approach to the bridge, Sprig gave the signal and the three frogs bailed from the cart, scrambling for the thorny underbrush before they got spotted. The sound of mud sticking to their feet being the only thing that gave them away, completely missed by the beleaguered toads. 

"Man, that tower is huge." Ivy whispered looking up at the stone monument to toad authority.

"Sure is,” Maddie agreed, “you said you had a blueprint?" she asked, checking in on her bag of curses. 

Sprig nodded, propping open Marcy's umbrella to protect the blueprints. "Okay, according to Ol' uncle Kip, our best way in is the sewers." Sprig unfurled the parchment to show Ivy and Maddie. 

"The sewers?" Ivy said with a scrunched up face, "you sure?" 

Maddie took a look at a note on the page. "' I've put an exploit in the sewer design. If an army can sneak inside, they can storm the keep without having to fight through the gate. Take this knowledge my descendants and Ruin those arrogant Toads and toss down their bodies- ' Yep that seems like the place." Maddie agreed with an approving nod. "Your Uncle Kip was vindictive, I can appreciate that."

"One of the entrances is in the canyon below." Sprig said before wrapping everything up and making their way down to the bottom of the canyon.

The rain was subsiding, but it was still sprinkling just enough to cover their approach. They followed the flow of water to a sewer grate with some effort the three of them pulled it open and slipped inside. 

Between the family ARPS game and the chambers beneath the Plantar home, Sprig had plenty of practice dungeon delving at this point. He took the lead, quick to spot the signs of monsters and navigate using the map. "Alright, so if Marcy is being held in the main dungeon of the tower, this should be pretty quick." Sprig explained in a whisper. "It’s on the first floor. We can pop out, we deal with any guards there, bust Marcy out and then we're back in the sewers before anyone knows anything amiss."

"sounds good." Ivy said with a cocksure grin.

"And if she's not in the main dungeon?" Maddie asked cautiously. 

"Then we go to Plan B," Sprig said with a worried frown, "If she's not there, it'll probably mean she's being held in the VIP Dungeon up in the main spire. That will make this more complicated. But here's what I'm thinking."  As they came up to a small alcove he kneeled down to level with them. "First, I'll be our scout, I'll figure out the best way forward and avoid problems..."

---

The three world hoppers snick down the halls of the tower, this late at night most of the toads were resting or passed out in the mess hall, so their path thus far hadn't been too bad. At that moment they were in a narrow stairwell, just wide enough for a toad to pass by easily. As they stalk up the stairs Sprig pauses, holding up a hand. 

Two toads approached at almost a sprint, "ugh I hope there's beetle steak left!"

"With the collectors coming back in? Dream on." Another said, shoving the first almost down the stairwell. Both of them pass by unaware of the trio of frog children hanging from the ceiling over them. Sprig listens close before giving the signal for all of them to go forward. 

---

"Ivy, you've gotten really strong after training with your mom." Sprig said. 

Ivy beamed happily, "oh stop, you're making me blush."

"Oh, heh, I mean," Sprig chuckled, embarrassed. 

Maddie rolled her eyes and snapped, "hey, both of you. Focus now, flirt later."

Sprig blushed, coughing, "right, uh, so Ivy, you're our muscle. If there's anyone who I can't get us around, it's your job to get us through."

---

A  lone toad guard stood at one end of the hallway, next to the staircase, spiraling up. The way he leaned against the opening basically blocked the entirety of the entrance up. He picked at his ear and pulled out a thick layer of wax. It was about the time he went to sniff said wax when night took a turn for the worse. 

Sprig used his slingshot to shoot a pebble just behind him on the stairs, he whirled around to find the source of the noise. It was here that Ivy charged forward on light feet, jumping onto his back. He went for his war horn as he tried to shake her off but it was too late. She shoved up his helmet with one hand and then delivered a few punches right to the back of his head. He fell forward, horn on his lips, but unblown. The three quickly dragged him just out of sight.

As they rushed back to the staircase, Sprig paused for just a moment to grab the dropped war horn, "Souvenir for Polly, check." he whispered to himself. 

---

"Okay, so what's my role then?" Maddie asked curious.

"You're our fixer. Basically, nothing ever goes fully to plan, but you have a lot of magic right?" 

"Curses," Maddie nodded. 

"So your job will be to handle the problems we don't see coming."

---

The three crept through the hall on the way to the VIP cell. All was quiet and it seemed like they had gotten through the worst of it without any trouble. Then a door suddenly opened right next to them, a confused looking toad staring down at their little group. 

"What the-" was the last words he spoke before a puff of magical sparkles transformed him. In his place there was a small wooden figurine of the guard, frozen in the same pose. 

"Woah..." Sprig poked at the figurine, "is he dead?"

"Naw, he just can't move, or speak." Maddie assured picking up the figure, "or see or hear. So it's kind of like he's dead, but trapped instead."

Ivy and Sprig looked at each other.

"Until I decide otherwise." Maddie said with a creepy chuckle before pocketing the toad and smiling pleasantly at her two companions. "Let's go." 

Sprig decided that was all better addressed never and waved them all on.

---

"But I mean, hopefully we won’t need all that." Sprig whispered with a shrug as he peered up through the sewer grate. "With any luck, Marcy will be right here in the main dungeon."

The three of them pushed the grate out of the way into what might have been the dustiest, dirtiest room Sprig had ever seen in his life. There were no torches lit and the only living souls were the roaches that scattered away from them. 

"Aw, nuts." 

---

Marcy stood by the window in her cell looking out at the landscape below her. it had finally stopped raining and she could see farther. The tower was probably the highest place in the valley outside of the mountains, and even from her limited vantage point she could see out across miles of the desolate wilderness. Her brain toyed with ways to escape, but only to keep itself occupied. She had no tools at her disposal and no ability to force her way out. 

She was trapped here, a fact that the captain had made very obvious and reminded her of constantly. 

She turned to look at the guard on task for the night. He was snoring at his post. Despite the captain's own gravitas, his soldiers seemed to be less than motivated as a whole. Honestly she wouldn't be surprised if she could just stroll right out the front door, provided her cage opened itself.

It was around that point that she saw the door out to the hallway creak open. It wasn't time for the guard change yet, so she assumed Grime was coming for another round of questioning.

Her view of the doorway was mostly blocked by the guard, so she craned her neck to see if Grime was arriving, but then the door closed without revealing anyone. Maybe someone made a wrong turn? 

Then Marcy heard the poof of curse magic and suddenly the guard was being wrestled and bound in layer after layer of vines. Despite this his eyes remained completely closed and asleep. 

Suddenly from behind the bound up body, Marcy saw a trio of familiar faces. "Sprig? Maddie? Ivy?"  she stood up coming close to the door to the cage, "wh-what are you doing here?" she said emotions wrestling between joy and a deep fear. 

"What do you think? We're here to rescue you!" Sprig said as if it was the most obvious thing to do, wandering straight into a heavily guarded and fortified fortress full of murderous thugs. "No Hopper left behind." he grinned as he took off her shoulder bag and slid it through the bars. 

Marcy for the first time in two days felt a smile creep on her face. 

Maddie, while this was going on was looking through the guards' things, prying apart vines to get a better look. "No keys." she reported.

"The captain is the only one who has them," Marcy confirmed. She opened her bag and looked inside. Sprig had removed most of the more academic things from her bag. Instead, she saw a wealth of the leftovers from her brief witching career. A flask of air, a jar of instant ice, a shrinking curse, an... empty jar for some reason, a pouch filled with five of her alchemic smoke bombs, her grappling hook and rope wrapped around the bag and finally... 

Marcy pulled out a small bundle of clinking metal and grinned unfolding out her thieves tools. Her inherited lockpicks. 

She made quick work of the shackle around her leg, it was barely an inconvenience. It was sturdy, but uncomplicated. The lock on the cell was trickier to deal with. She couldn't crane her neck to see it, so it became somewhat of a team effort with her friends telling her what they saw as she blindly picked at the lock. Fortunately it was a simple lock, even by this world's standards it was old . Turning the rusty mechanism once the tumblers were picked turned out to be half the effort. 

As the cage opened Sprig leapt into Marcy’s arms for a hug. Marcy shook her head in disbelief, "I can't believe you've all risked yourselves like this. You're all the best" She said, squeezing Sprig like a beloved plush toy.

"I know." Maddie agreed without humility. 

Ivy rolled her eyes, but smiled, patting Marcy on the hip. "We couldn't stand seeing them take you away."

Sprig snuggled close, "Couldn't leave you here, sis." 

Marcy felt her heart swell as she took a steadying breath and looked about. "Okay. Lots of emotions, but escape first, feelings later." she said, letting Sprig down.

The three world hoppers nodded their agreement, and they all snuck towards the door. However, just as they were about to reach it, there was an approach of footsteps, Marcy ushered them all to the left side of the door. Marcy waited with held breath as the door swung open. Grime walked in, distracted by paperwork with all four of them standing still in his blind spot. 

Grime came in, distracted slightly by a parchment he was reading. Marcy motioned for her friends to slip out. Ivy went first, followed by Sprig. 

"You know human, I have to say, when I took on the job as the ruthless leader of the tower, I had no idea just how much busywork would be involved in the..." he looked up to where he had always seen Marcy, only to find the cell empty, the cage ajar, and the guard asleep and bound in thick vines. 

Marcy was keeping an eye on Grime not realizing that Maddie was preparing to throw a curse until it was too late. 

Maddie hurled it right at his back, with only the slightest breath of exertion to give her away. But give her away it did. Grime whirled around and in one fluid motion drew his blade and cut the curse pouch in half. Marcy grabbed Maddie by the back of her dress and pulled them both out of the room before the sparkles could clear. 

Marcy pushed Maddie towards the staircase where Sprig and Ivy waited. slamming the door shut and throwing down the lock bar to the room.

She heard as Grime leapt at the door, slamming his full weight behind it as he shouted out obscenities. Marcy urged her three friends onwards as she ran to catch up. As she got to the end of the hallway where the staircase was, she heard a splintering crash from behind her. She glanced back to see the wooden lock bar was splintered apart and the door itself was well off its hinges. The captain of Toad Tower strode into the hallway with a murderous look in his eyes. 

Marcy started down the stairs after her friends as she heard a horn sound from behind her followed by, "Intruders! Intruders within the keep!" Grime’s voice echoed off the stone in every direction thundering through his keep. "They are escaping with the prisoner!"

"Sprig, what's the plan?" 

"Uhhh... get out quietly?" he called back with a shrug. 

Right, okay, "How'd you get in?"

Marcy had been held up on the fifth floor of the tower. They had an easy run down the first stairwell and floor. The toads on the fourth floor were still falling out of their beds while the Hoppers ran through unopposed. 

"Sewers!" Ivy called over her shoulder.

A toad stumbled out from his room groggy eyed, "what's the captain wan-" Ivy jump kicked him and sent him staggering into his doorframe. 

"They're entrances are all on the first floor," Maddie added. 

By the time they got down to the third floor a few toads had come out curious about what was going on but still weren't particularly well prepared. Ivy and Sprig were able to handle the couple of guards who were ready, and a smoke bomb in the center of the room delayed anyone else wading in.  

"Well, we're heading that way, one way or another!" Marcy called out  as they cleared the smoke and got to the next stairwell. All the while Grime was driving the soldiers they left behind like cattle down towards them. Each step they were delayed was another moment they had to catch up.

The second floor wasn't dorms like the upper two, guards were all over the place, ready and waiting to be the anvil to Grime's hammer. 

"Maddie," Sprig said, a little hesitant, “you’re up.” 

The little blue witch smiled. 

In moments the room was positively filled with smoke and panic as Maddie tossed fire curse after fire curse into their enemies. Even those that had come prepared in armor scattered for the cover in the doorways around the hallways as they pressed forward. Maddie cackled with each toss and Marcy ended up having to pick her up to wrench her away from the wanton arson. Marcy tossed her down the stairs, knowing frogs were better than cats at landing on their feet before seeing the guards from the upper floor start to flood out of the opposite stairwell. 

Marcy dug through her pack, pulling out her bottle of instant ice, she ducked into the stairway and tossed it at her feet after getting halfway down. The neon blue mixture splashed across the next several stairs, but Marcy did not stay to watch. Over her shoulder she could hear cracks as the liquid quickly solidified into ice, Then after another dozen steps she heard a fateful "whoops," which was followed by an avalanche of toads tripping, slipping, and falling over one another as they hit the ice patch. 

She wished she could have stayed to see the fallout, but the call from Grime for them to, "get up you useless dregs," was enough to assure her that things had gone well. They arrived at the first floor, unlike the more simple floors of the main spire, the keep at the base had a much more elaborate layout. A grand entrance hall greeted them full of old rugs and tapestries. 

"Alright, main dungeon is that way-" Sprig was about to point them down a hallway when a number of toads started to emerge from it, drawn by the commotion upstairs. "Uh, okay, mess hall should..." the doors opened up and a number of toads came out. Unlike the ones above, these ones were in their armor, wielding proper weapons. To avoid being cornered on the stairwell, the three were corralled towards the front door. "uhhh..." Sprig looked like he was ready to panic. 

"To the courtyard!" Marcy said, grasping two smoke bombs and throwing them towards each flanking groups of toads. All four of them had to push hard to open up the main doors enough to slip outside. Marcy took a deep breath as the cool night air clung to her sweat ridden face, feet sinking just slightly into the fresh mud. The rain down to no more than a mist on the wind. 

The front gate was guarded by two guards, but they somehow hadn't caught onto what was happening, and she could see the main doors of the gate were just open wide enough to slip through. Marcy felt hope bloom as she dashed across the mud and muck.

"Close the gates you idiots!" came the command from above. Marcy looked behind her and saw Grime at one of the windows, having given up trying to get past the stair blockage. As they made it halfway across the courtyard he leapt from the window, sword in hand. Landing with a splash of mud. From behind him a number of the toads they had delayed were shoving the main doors open, all while in front of them Marcy saw their only way out close. 

"Mar-" Sprig was starting to stop, but Marcy scooped him up to her shoulder as she did her best to keep her footing.

"Corner tower!" she said, pointing to the left cylindrical battlements that sat at each corner of the keeps outer wall. She glanced back as the Grime led a horde of toads after them. The door at the base of the corner tower opened up to reveal a massive brute of a toad warrior. He wielded a massive ax, face in a sneer.

Without even pausing Marcy fished out the second to last smoke bomb and handed it to Sprig. "Down the hatch." she said and he nodded in understanding. 

The massive toad's face filled with rage and he charged them screaming a war cry that should have scared them all into submission. Instead, Sprig loaded the smoke bomb into his slingshot and fired it straight into the toads throat. A gout of smoke exploded out of him as his eyes widened in surprise, he fell to the ground gasping for air. 

Maddie and Ivy nimbly jumped over the gasping toad. Marcy tried to follow suit but slipped on the slick mud as she landed, tripping forward in an attempt to steady herself. Momentum led her to running headfirst into the stone doorframe of the tower. Pain thrummed through her skull as she fell to the ground, Sprig tossed from her shoulder. 

Sprig, frog that he was, landed witha hop and a skip, but turned back, voice concerned. "Marcy, are you alright!?" 

Marcy got on her knees and touched at the source of the pain, pulling away with wet red finger tips. She swung her head behind her and saw the other toads closing in. Grime zeroed in on her and striding menacingly. "Go, Go!" she got up pushing Sprig onward up the stairs. 

Maddie and Ivy had stopped briefly for them to catch up but then they were all scrambling upward. Marcy felt as the blood started to stream down the side of her face. They reached the top of the staircase and pushed against the trap door at the top once again emerging into the windy overcast sky. 

Marcy took a second to orient herself before spotting what she was looking for. "There above the gate!" 

Between the two corner towers there was an unadorned segment of wall the main gate was built into. Her three friends jumped down onto it with ease while Marcy took her time trying to lower herself, Marcy looked down the over two story drop to the ground, "can you three jump from this high?"

"Maybe?" Ivy said doubtfully. 

"I'd break something," Maddie assured.

From behind them Grime's voice called out, "It ends here human!" 

Marcy looked up and saw Grime, who casually stepped off from the corner tower battlements to the wall. Marcy looked back to the other corner tower, but a number of guards were also starting to crowd the location. 

"It was a good chase, your kind certainly are a slippery sort. But I'm afraid you've reached the end of the line." As Grime gloated, their group of four slowly retreated back.

Marcy whispered, as she opened her shoulder bag, "Maddie? Any curses left?" 

"All out." Maddie responded, taking cover behind Marcy's leg. 

Ivy took a fighting stance between them and Grime, but looked shaky and nervous. 

Marcy desperately took stock of her options. 

Rope and grappling hook - Essential for escape. Cannot use while Grime was a threat. 

Curse of Shrinking - Powerful, but not going to stop an army.

Bottle of Air - Not strong enough to push toads off the wall, useless.  

Single remaining Smoke Bomb - Useful but short term, wouldn't give them enough time. 

Shroomlight - Useless. 

Lockpicking tools - Useless.

Warhorn - Useless!

Empty Jar - Useless...? 

"Sprig, why did you put an empty jar in here?" she asked in a hushed whisper as she pulled it out. Maybe she could throw it at Grime at least. 

"I- I don't think anything was empty." he said, retreating at pace alongside Marcy. 

Marcy frowned and held up the jar to the moonlight, then she saw it. Something she had nearly forgotten about. She remembered the sensation of her fingers gliding over the old vellum pages, her first piece of unsupervised witchcraft.

 

 

'Wait three to four weeks for the best results.'

Marcy unscrewed the cap of the jar and fished out two large seeds, she stared at Grime, hurt, pained expression as she felt that cold dread start to fill her heart again, "listen. Jus- Just let them go, or I'll-"

Grime looked incredulously at her before a bark of laughter escaped his lips, "Are those seeds? Are you threatening me with Seeds!? " He stressed the words before barking out laughter. A number of toads joined int, But not all of them. Several, no most of the ones on the wall, were looking elsewhere, outward in horror. "Maybe you are just some farmer's pet afterall," he wiped away an errant tear from the corner of his eye. "But no human, those three’s fates are sealed. If the children of the valley are so bold as to try to defy us, then I’ll need to make an example of them."

"Sir?" A blonde toad who was staring out from the walls tapped at Grime's shoulders. 

"Death is traditional for treason," he grinned, "But there's something to having a living reminder of what defiance looks like. Send them home broken might be prudent." 

"Sir!" the blonde toad tried again, voice quiet but severe. 

Grime's taunting smile stopped and he turned. "What is it Braddak?" he demanded impatiently. Braddak pointed towards the forest. Grime followed her outstretched hand and his working eye widened with something Marcy had not seen from the captain yet. Worry. 

Marcy allowed herself a moment to glance out at what they were looking at. It was birds. Two birds. Two truly colossal herons that towered over the forest. Marcy knew how tall those trees were roughly. Those herons had to be almost five stories tall.

"Kill the torches- herons!" Grime pointed out to the toads in the courtyard, giving a stage whispered commands. As a nervous murmur broke out he shushed them violently, "Quiet. Move!" Grime demanded of his troops. a group from the courtyard ran back towards the tower to turn off all the lights. 

Marcy, still holding the seeds, tried to think, she had fragments of plans and was trying to put them together. She felt a tug at the bottom of her sweatshirt and looked down. Sprig was clinging to her, she could feel him tremble against her side. "Sprig?"

"H-herons," he managed to say, burying his head in her sweatshirt. 

Ivy glanced nervously out towards the herons as well. Even Maddie seemed unnerved by their appearance. Marcy laid a comforting hand on Sprig's head.

It was up to her. Anne and Sasha weren't there to protect her. If she didn't do something fast her friends were going to get hurt or worse. She needed time to think. 

The gash on her head stung distractingly as the cold wind whipped through her hair.

She needed time to think.

Grime, satisfied with his troops' response, started to turn his focus back to them.

She just needed time to think.

Marcy closed her eyes against the world trying to focus and then felt a shift.

---

The gash... didn't hurt anymore. The wind died down or... disappeared along with the cold?

She opened her eyes. The world was as it was a moment ago, but off. The flags that flew from the battlements stood still mid flap. Grime's ire was still in the middle of turning fully to face them. The heron was stuck, its head buried in the forest. 

It felt eerily as if the world around her had frozen like a game that had crashed. She stepped forward and looked behind her, almost immediately jumping out of her skin. 

Marcy saw herself, standing frozen just like everything else, seeds raised high, wincing against the pain. She reached out to touch her own arm but her hand phased through it like a ghost. She stepped back taking a shaky breath. 

"Hello!" 

Marcy whirled around to be met by another version of herself. This one stood out starkly as the only other animated thing in the frozen world. The only clear difference was that in place of Marcy's brown hazel eyes they had bright emerald green ones. 

"Are you ready to get to work?" It was her voice, chipper and friendly. 

"Who are you?" Marcy asked.

"Unknown." it responded unhelpfully, "We only know what you know."

"Where did you come from!?"

"Unknown." It repeated without judgment, "to reiterate. We only know what you know."

Marcy took a moment to consider the words rather than asked pointlessly again. She narrowed her eyes, "... okay but what are you?" The question this time was posed to herself. Not seeking answers, but meant to focus her.

Her green eyed projection smiled looking around, "... Based on circumstantial evidence, we seem to be connected to whatever has caused the world to freeze." 

Marcy frowned, "so you've stopped time?" she said, a little skeptical, "that seems unlikely." she shook her head, it would break physics. Was she slowing just the valley? What about the velocity of the rest of Amphibia? Was she slowing the whole planet? Would that knock them out of orbit as the sun hurtled ever onward through space?

"Agreed. However, thinking of it in such a way may be sufficient for our purposes-" the projection advised. 

Marcy, too absorbed in her own curiosity kept going, "I can't move anything but this... projection?" she wiggled her fingers through her frozen body again. She took a close look at her face, wincing at the gash going through her eyebrow. Then she saw the smallest shift in the light in the blood. It was slow, glacially slow, but things were still moving, "What if... it’s a perspective thing!" she snapped her fingers, "everything just seems slow because I'm thinking faster." she grinning, her double nodded the logic checked out. "So, you're separate from me, but helping me process everything faster..." Marcy tapped her temple, "Like RAM for a computer."

"An apt metaphor."

"I'm going to call you Ram." Marcy said with a satisfied nod.

"Understood," Ram smiled, "I will caution that we should prioritize ourselves. We don't know how long this state can be maintained, and we have bigger problems." They gestured towards Grime and then swept out wider to encompass the entire mess they were in.

Right. Escape first. "Okay, let's come up with a plan."

And so they did. Ram had the ability to create simulations when Marcy proposed plans, showing the likely outcomes. Silhouettes of key players would appear superimposed on the near frozen world. 

With no distractions Marcy came up with a plan, it was so obvious once she took a step back. It was elegant, it was efficient, it got them all out with an acceptable amount of risk. 

It also made her sick to her stomach. 

"It seems we have come across a solution, shall we enact it now?" Ram asked helpfully. 

Marcy swept her hand, willing the simulation in front of her away. "No, let's... let's consider our other options." Marcy swallowed hard, trying to not remember what she had just masterminded. 

Ram looked a little confused but nodded, awaiting instruction. 

"We can just run for it. We have the rope and grappling hook-"

Unlike with the first plan, Ram interrupted almost immediately, "Grime will cut you down before you start rappelling." They snapped their fingers and Marcy watched as a short simulation played out, Marcy trying to set up the grappling hook to escape only to end up with Grime's sword about to plunge into her chest. 

"I-I'll buy them time," Marcy said, looking at the three world hoppers. "They can use the rope and I'll charge Grime-"

"They won't abandon you." Ram judged neutrally, "You will try to play the hero for them, then they will try to play the hero for you, and then you will all die." Another simulation played out, this time with the other toads surging forward to grab the frogs and again ending with Marcy about to be stabbed. "Actually... " Ram reconsidered. " Maddie might use the opportunity," the simulation edited for Maddie to be partway down the rope. "She would hate it, and herself, but there's a good chance she'd accept taking vengeance at a later date. So hey, she would then just have to outrun the entire toad army and survive traversing the Toad Lands alone." 

Marcy took a breath, "I'll parlay with Grime, get him to-"

"Diplomacy is a dead end." Ram explained this time a window popped up to frame Grime's face, reminding Marcy a lot of a diplomacy screen in one of her strategy games. A '-100' took up the bottom of the display. "He hates humans after losing his leg. He clearly despises frogs. We don't know what he wants other than us and Anne dead." Ram listed off quickly. "The only leverage we have is the threat of violence, which he doesn't believe we can deliver on."  

"The other toads then!" Marcy said, knowing it was desperation. "They don't seem to like Grime so-"

"We rally them against him? Us and what charisma modifier?" Ram shook their head, "They don't like Grime, but they don't care about us either. We met, what, four of them? Spoke to none of them?" Marcy frowned knowing they were right. "Everyone here willing to stick their neck out for you is on this wall already." Ram walked over, gesturing to Ivy, Maddie, and Sprig. 

Marcy's eyes lingered on Sprig. The two of them had been in a number of situations, but never had she seen him look so scared. 

"and- even if you somehow found the right words that might somehow get the toads on your side-" they snapped their fingers. Another simulation played out, this time Marcy appealing to the crowd below them, only for Grime to stride forward, bat aside her friends, and end with him in a position to cut her down. 

"Fine! We can use the shrink curse on Grime, then-"

"Trust every other toad will let us leave?" Ram snapped his fingers and Marcy's appeal to the crowd with this time interrupted by Braddock ready to stab her with a spear while a tiny Grime looked on. "She didn't hesitate with Anne, you think she'll hesitate with you?" Ram gestured out to the large crowd in the courtyard. "That they'll all just let you go?"

Marcy clenched her fists, "There has to be a way."

"We already found one-" Ram insisted.

"Something else! Something less-" Marcy took a breath, "there has to be..."

Ram let out a sigh, "if there is, we don't know of it. Do the math."

"This power, whatever we're doing now-"

"We don't know how we're doing this." Ram said gesturing around them at the slowed world, "To leverage it to escape- if that's even possible- we wouldn't know where to begin. You want to bet all of your lives on an experiment. Do the math."

Marcy felt her heartbeat quicken, the inevitable conclusion she was trying desperate to stave off coming ever closer, "This isn't how it was supposed to be!" she yelled to the passive Ram. Her chest shook as she tried to make sense of how she got here. "I was supposed to be with Anne and Sasha! We were supposed to b- be going on an adventure together!" The words held in for so long came out as she took a shaky breath, she felt the distant pain of her gash again, "This isn't fair!" she turned her back to Ram, arms crossed, hugging herself for some measure of comfort.

"It isn't." Ram confirmed, "but that changes nothing. Do the math. Our best option-"

 "I don't want to kill anyone!" she all but screamed at her clone. The words out she breathes a few shaky breaths. She falls to her knees sobbing, grabbing the back of her hair as she buried her face in her elbows.

Marcy sensed as Ram came closer, kneeling down in front of her. Ram gently peeled her hands that were clasped over her head and held them in their own. Marcy looked up through teary eyes. Ram's eyes held sympathy. "I know." it said, gently with a nod. It kept eye contact as it spoke without judgment or reproach, "but we both know that is not our highest priority." she glanced back to Sprig, Maddie, and Ivy. "Please, do the math... we are running out of time." Ram implored. Marcy felt the cool night air once again on her sweat soaked skin.

"What math?" Marcy asked, desperate for any kind of direction. 

"To the problem you're avoiding."

Marcy closed her eyes bracing herself and then opened them, nodding for Ram to elaborate. 

Ram smiled, relieved to see her come around. Their green eyes shined as she gave Marcy the gift of clarity. "Whose lives do we value more?"

---

Grime always liked to think of himself as a connoisseur of threats. He had certainly heard enough of them over the years to form a refined palate. 

Top tier was of course the threats made by the strong, the opponents that Grime genuinely did not know if he could overcome. Threats that one could not easily shake off. Such a threat is burned into his memory as the moment before he lost sight in his right eye. He still came out on top of that fight, but it was a close thing. Such threats had a texture to them that spoke of confidence won by experience.

At the bottom of course were the threats made by the weak yet overconfident. The rabble who were the most talented fighters in their village, who came to the coliseum to make their fortune. Who boasted to a crowd how this was just the first step towards their glory. Only to be crushed beneath Grime's bootheel. Such threats felt grainy and irritating like sand on the beach. Like sand they were easily washed away and forgotten.

Then there was his guilty pleasure, threats made by the terrified. Those he had backed into a corner and in a last ditch attempt tried to threaten him. The whimpering bark of a guard beetle that knows it's been beat. Waving whatever weapon they had on hand trying to sound brave. It wasn't enriching to hear such threats, it didn't nourish him like a proper threat did, but oh was it delightful to hear. The desperation. The fear. The audacity to act as if they were equals. Such a threat as the one the raven haired human had made at him holding nothing but seeds. 

Yes, Grime had heard a number of threats in his life but none quite like what he saw as he turned from ordering his soldiers back to the creature he had cornered at the top of the battlements. Bleeding from the head and now tears streaming down her face, at first glance he expected her to finally surrender whatever information she had on this ‘Anne’. But then he saw her eyes as they met his own. They were emotional, sure, but not desperate. Nervous, but not scared. There was confidence in what she was about to do. A pity that Grime had never once experienced being directed at him in his long career... and he was certain they were brown only a few moments ago and not a supernatural green. 

The strong winds of the night had blown most of the cloud cover away. As the clouds parted, she stood with the moon at her back. She kept holding the seeds high. When she spoke, it was shaky, but had an edge of sincerity that would stick with Grime as strongly as the toad warrior who had taken his eye in the coliseum all those years ago.   

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"I'm sorry for what's about to happen."

Then with a flick of her wrist she threw the seeds down into the courtyard of his keep.

---

Marcy maintained eye contact with Grime who now had a look of confused concern. She held both hands up as if she planned to surrender. "Hey..." she whispered down to her friends, "when I say 'now', I need you to grab onto my back, alright?"  

The two seeds fluttered on the wind as they plummeted towards the ground. None of the toads caught sight of their fall, the moonlight too weak. One seed plunked and bounced off the helmet of a guard, which allowed the other seed to touch down first, sinking down into the wet churned earth. It glowed green for a moment before tendrils and vines burst out rapidly in all directions. The acidic base of a tomato plant grew out rapidly. The toads in the courtyard yelped in fear as the earth beneath them became a vine ridden mess. A single large head of the tomato head flowered open its jaws. One soldier, quick to react, swung an ax and decapitated the plant, but the magic was not done. Hydra-like, two heads grew out from the wound, and a vine snatched the offending toad before it could make a second swing. 

Marcy watched all of this out of her periphery. 

"What in Barrel's name!" Once Grime's attention was pulled from her, Marcy dropped her hands driving into her bag, looping the rope around her shoulder and then pulling out the bottle of air with one hand while the second dived for the warhorn. She bit down on the cork of the potion and then ripped it out, swirling the potion inside as it rapidly began to transmute from liquid to a strong wind in the bottle. Her other hand got hold of the warhorn and she fit the lip of the horn into the uncorked bottle of air. She twisted it as far as she dared without cracking the flask. The air rushing out let out a bellowing alarm to the wilderness.

She held it confidently out towards the herons in the distance, calling them to her. 

Grime looked at her enraged, "Are you trying to get us all killed!?" he started towards her, but Marcy was waiting for that. She gently lobbed the improvised air horn towards Grime just a little higher than he would be able to catch easily. Grime stopped his forward charge to grab at the device. 

Marcy didn't hesitate, she grabbed the rope from her shoulder and threw the grappling hook down the inner wall. 

"Now!" she called to her friends and felt As Sprig jumped onto one shoulder while Maddie took the other. Ivy grabbed tight to her back, putting a steadying foot on Marcy's hip. Three weights confirmed she pulled tight to secure the grappling hook and then started repelling. She let lengths of rope slip through her gloved palms. down five feet, grip, feet against wall, hop, loosen grip, down five more feet, repeat. Part way down, Marcy heard the smashing of the flask and a silencing of the airhorn. "get ready to jump! He'll cut the rope any second now!" she called out.

"What-?" Sprig asked, but got his answer to the tune of metal scraping against stone above them as their tether was cut. 

Her three friends per her request hopped off her shoulders, Marcy didn't have the time or positioning to land on her feet and settled to land on her left side. 

Pain. She was braced for it, but the feeling of your skeleton cracking never felt great. Stars danced in her vision as she forced herself to sit up, uninjured arm digging into her pack . Even through the pain she could see the first of the herons was charging headlong towards the bridge they were now trapped on. 

"Marcy?" Sprig's voice was full of fear, but Marcy only stared the creature down as it approached. Its head leveled with the ground as it prepared to scoop them. 

Marcy forced herself to her feet and stepped forward, if this didn't work at least the others would have a chance to run while it dealt with her. About twenty feet away Marcy threw down her last smoke bomb and ducked. 

The sudden gout of black alchemic smoke spooked the heron. Wanting to avoid the toxic smelling smoke, it pulled its head up and leapt in a jumping flutter. It's feet clipped the top of the tower wall stone, and rock crashing into the courtyard where it found plenty of prey.

The passing  of the enormous beast banished the smoke Marcy had hid within. Ahead the heron's mate was close behind. Marcy's hand was already grabbing at her last ace in the hole.

The heron screeched down at Marcy as she tossed her curse pouch straight at its chest. 

---

Sprig hadn't been prepared for the smoke bomb Marcy threw. He coughed on the smoke as he shuddered at the passing of the first bird. He was trying to summon up the courage to go forward and help Marcy, but fear made his legs feel like lead. As the smoke cleared, he looked up, worried what he might see. His eyes widened with awe at the sight before him.

The heron had shrunken down to be just barely taller than Marcy. She had tackled the confused creature, her unhurt arm wrapped around its neck in a chokehold. The bird thrashed, trying to comprehend how it was suddenly being harassed by for dinner. For reasons that Sprig would not be able to articulate, seeing his older sister singlehandedly fighting the creature that had haunted his dreams for years was deeply cathartic.

The bird finally managed to toss Marcy, she fell hard on the stone bridge as the bird screeched over her collapsed body.

Before he could think better of it, Sprig drew his slingshot and marble to strike the bird in the head. The bird turned a bewildered stare and Sprig just drew a second marble. Maddie and Ivy joined him, picking up rubble from the wall to hurl the bird's way. As a second and then third projectile hit the creature, it was officially done with this new reality in which its prey could hurt it and jumped off the bridge to glide away. 

Sprig watched the creature fly away, heart pounding before turning back to Marcy, "Marcy! That was amazing!" he shouted but then paused. Marcy was lying on her back, head tilted to watch the bird fly off, but she wasn't getting up. "Marcy!" 

---

Marcy watched as the second heron fluttered away on the wind. 

"Marcy!" Sprig's voice, Marcy thought to herself. She felt so dizzy, it was hard to focus. Her eyes looked past her tree friends as they crowded around her vision to the tower. She watched as the remaining, full sized heron, tossed a toad in the air and swallowed them whole. Sprig jostled her shoulder and she let out a whine of pain as her arm burned in pain. Sprig flinched back apologetically.

"She's lost a lot of blood." Ivy this time. 

"Sprig, prop her head up, gently. Ivy, keep a lookout." Maddie ordered. 

Thank frog, all three of them were alright. Her vision was tilted up slightly. As Sprig cradled up she got an angle on the ruined gatehouse. She saw as two toads attempted to climb over the rubble at the front gate to escape. One was grabbed around the torso by a vine, the other grabbed onto them but only accomplished being pulled along with them back into the courtyard. She felt a small vial being pressed to her lips and was hit by the sickly sweet taste of cherry. Health potion. She felt her gash start to close up and the pain in her arm dull.   

It was just like she planned. The tomato plants didn't bother the heron, knowing it was far too big for them to eat. In turn, the carnivorous heron had little interest in attacking the tomato plants when there were plenty of prey to go around. Watching the chaos she orchestrated play out mostly horrified her. But there was a part of her, a small part, that felt satisfaction. In seeing her plan come together. In its flawless execution. In watching the ones who would do her friends harm be brought low. 

Recognizing that feeling only made her feel worse. 

Words were being said to her, Sprig was urging her to get up. She wanted to. She wanted to run, but the potion wasn't exactly a blood transfusion. She rolled onto her stomach anyways. She was trying to get some leverage to stand up, but she felt so dizzy. So tired. 

Sprig made some kind of call of surprise... but not in fear... 

Marcy looked up and saw Hop Pop, Bessie behind him cowering in her shell. Hop Pop's was dismounted, walking towards them, head craned back looking at the scene behind them. His mouth was agape, filled with a mixture of awe and horror, and that look was moved to Marcy as Sprig was trying to explain what happened. 

Marcy felt  desperation take hold of her foggy mind. She needed him to know. He had to understand. "The toads... were going to hurt them…" she managed to get out before the world spun and she lost consciousness. 

---

Marcy awoke, head jostled as she came to a stop. She was curled up, warm, in a heavy blanket. Her legs were tucked up and sore from staying in the position so long. She opened her eyes, quickly realizing she was in Bessie's trunk. Looking up she saw the canopy of trees above them. They were back in the south forest, near Wartwood. Her arm still hurt but had been placed in an improvised sling. Looking about, Maddie and Ivy were snoring in the front seat. Sprig was sleeping on Bessie's Shell, a hand stretched out probably meant to stay on Marcy's shoulder, but had wandered since he fell asleep.  

"You awake?" Hop Pop's voice whispered from below. He pulled down the side of the wooden trunk. Marcy stretched out her legs as Hop Pop jumped up with a bucket and washcloth. "We're almost back now," he explained, wetting the cloth and brushing it across Marcy's face. Marcy felt the blood that had dried to her skin slowly be wiped away. "How's your noggin?"

Marcy went to speak but coughed a little. Hop Pop offered her his water skin and she drank fron it. "Better..." she said quietly. "Did they tell you..."

Hop Pop nodded. 

"... did they seem scared?" Marcy asked, not... fearing the answer, but knowing what it might be. 

"No... once we were out to safety, they couldn't stop talking about it." Hop Pop assured. "They talked about what happened like you were myth woven in starlight." He dipped the cloth back in the bucket, a rust color seeping in the clear river water. "You were the hero."

Marcy nodded, wincing as Hop Pop started to clean around the fresh scar on her head. She stayed quiet as he worked before working up the nerve to ask, "Are you scared of me?"

Hop Pop paused in his cleaning, then continued, "no. Scared for what happens next, but no, not scared of you. You were protecting family. If I was in your shoes, with your know-how, I don't think I would have done any differently." 

Marcy let out a shuddering breath of relief. 

"... How about you?" Marcy looked at him confused. "How do you feel about what happened?" Marcy frowned, looking down into the cart and pulling the blanket closer to herself. Hop Pop nodded in understanding, pushing her face up to brush at her chin. They sat in silence for a little before Hop Pop spoke again, "You escaped when the heron attacked." Hop Pop said. For a moment Marcy worried that he hadn't heard the truth, but he clarified, "that's what we'll tell folks if they ask. You slipped out in the confusion," he elaborated. "I talked to the kids while you were out."

Marcy nodded, committing the story to memory, "I still can't believe they did all that for me."

"I'm not." Hop Pop answered, ringing out the cloth, "They did what they did for the same reason you did what you did. You're family, like it or not." 

Marcy nodded looking up at the little hero fondly. Hop Pop shook his head, "I was scared to find him gone. Terrified really, but not surprised. He wasn't going to let anything take family away from him again. Not if he could help it." Satisfied with his work he tossed the murky water overboard and threw the washcloth in the bucket. 

"... Sprig and Polly's parents... was it herons?" Marcy guessed. 

Hop Pop nodded gravely. He adjusted Marcy's sling and she winced in discomfort. "We'll get you a proper cast in the morning," Hop Pop assured and hopped out to repack the bucket into the saddlebags. "It's one thing when a beast takes away someone. It's nature, you know? It's tragic, but you can't hold an animal accountable. You have to grieve and move on. But when it's a person..." Hop Pop's let out a huff, "You can invest in that kind of hate, if your not careful that hate could consume you." He got out a feeder bag for Bessie and started to fill it with a trail mix of dried nuts and mushrooms.

"Have you? Did someone..." 

"No... no but I've seen it happen to others." Hop Pop said with a tone that fully communicated his long life, "I mean, can you imagine a more unforgivable act? Taking away family from somebody?" 

Marcy smiled, appreciating the sentiment. After a moment however, it turned to a frown, her eyebrows knitted together. Slowly, as to not jostle her arm, Marcy reached out for her pack. She unzipped a small pocket on the outside, too small for most tools or potions or books. She fumbled around blindly until her hand brushed against the edge of a photograph. It was the old kind you had to get developed. It was a picture of her, Anne, and Sasha on their first day of 8th grade. Mr. Boonchuy had insisted on taking the photo like he had every year before. Like every year before, he had gifted each of them a copy. 

Marcy felt a deep knot of guilt start to form in the center of her chest, weighted and suffocating. She brought the photo to forehead, digging her thumb nail into the bridge of her nose. 

Unaware of this new personal crisis, Hop Pop kept talking. "Nope, don't think I could ever forgive someone like that. Ever. I mean, even if they had a sympathetic reason for doing it. Couldn't forgive em'... Even if it was Sal, my oldest and dearest friend in the world-"

"I get it Hop Pop."

---

Marcy sat on the porch of the Plantar home, flipping through pages of a book from Hop Pop's library. Her arm was in a cast and being supported by a small table her family had brought out for her. Hop Pop was currently in town getting some groceries while Sprig was hunting down something for them to eat later tonight. Polly had kept her company for a bit but eventually got bored and went inside to play on Marcy's Shift. They had all made sure she was comfortable first though, Marcy gnawed absentmindedly on some beetle jerky as she skimmed through the material.

Marcy heard something coming in from the gate and expected to see Bessie coming home with Hop Pop in toe. To her surprise however, she was met with the sight of Mrs. Croaker on the back of her giant Ladybug. Marcy gave of a confused wave. Mrs. Croaker was a neighbor, but Marcy had learned that when your neighbors were a couple acres away that didn't mean as much. She certainly hadn't visited before. 

"Hi Mrs. Croaker... Hop Pop isn't around, but I can pass on a message." Marcy felt for her bag to get a scrap of paper and a pencil. 

"Don't bother, I'm not here to see that whipper snapper." she hopped out of her cart with a small basket, and came to the porch. She sat in the second rocking chair next to Marcy, "road was a bit too bumpy, just gonna rest for a bit." Marcy nodded, absolutely unsure whether this was supposed to be normal, but didn't really want to argue. 

"Well, welcome to the porch, we got plenty of nice shade?" Marcy said with a shrug, intending to return to her book. 

Before she could however, Mrs. Croaker reached into her little basket and pulled out what looked like some kind of wooden thermos. She poured out some kind of a brown steaming liquid into the lid and offered it to Marcy, "had some extra milk, figured I'd make a little chocopede soup."

Marcy took the cup carefully and took a sip to be polite, only for her mind to put together what this was, "hot chocolate!" she said with a grin, instantly taking a big gulp, singing her tongue a little in the process. Aside from the occasional texture of boiled carapace, it tasted just like it did back home. 

Mrs. Croaker smiled at Marcy as she took another gulp, offering a refill. She looked out over the Plantar farm, "you know it's hard to see from the road, but from here it's clear to see your handiwork all around the fields." she complimented pointing out with her cane. Marcy blushed a little at the compliment intending to play down her efforts, but Mrs. Croaker continued talking, "you know I had a cousin when I was younger," she started, with an air of wistfulness. "We grew up together, same ranch." she pointed down the road, "leaner times back them. He wasn't clever by half, but he was a good sort. Worked hard for the family, did his best."

Marcy listened quietly, warm cup on her thigh. 

"One night, but he got a little too deep in his cups at the tavern." she shook her head. "Said some things he shouldn't've said to some toads that shouldn't've been there." she took in a breath, "Got dragged back to the tower. Never saw him again." 

Marcy frowned in sympathy, unsure what to say. 

Mrs. Croaker looked back at Marcy, weary eyes filled with a small measure of joy, "I'm glad the Plantars didn't have to go through that." she patted Marcy affectionately on the knee before rocking back to her feet. She left the thermos next to Marcy's chair, "you enjoy that now. Bring the thermos when you're done." she said, hopping back into the saddle of her ladybug. "and if anyone in town gives you guff, you let me know." she said before turning her mount around.

Mrs Croaker was the first, but not the last to come visit her. Over the next couple days Marcy received a number of visitors. Some quick check-ins like Aldar bringing by pastries or chuck gifting some tulip bulbs. Others sat down for a spell. Felicia came by with a fresh pot of tea and Loggle stopped by to chat about wood cutting techniques. It certainly wasn't everyone in town, but it was enough. The next time she took a trip into town with the Plantars she was met with more friendly waves than suspicious glances.

Notes:

Man, I have been building up to this chapter for over 12 Weeks. I am so happy I got to share it with you. I hope I didn't scare too many of you off. For the record, this is partly why Anne hasn't shown up yet. Marcy needs to be able to stand on her own two feet. Can't just follow Anne/Sasha/Andrias's lead as the protagonist.

I think it's a good time to explain how I interpret Marcy's character. 

---

Analysis

When writing for this AU I keep these three things in mind as what I see as Marcy's core character traits. There are obviously other traits but these I feel are imo the core driving traits for the narrative

1. Personality: Marcy is socially inept, earnest, and emotionally guarded. Marcy does her best, but she does not understand people easily. Her earnestness however is very endearing and makes the relationships she does manage to acquire pretty strong as she seems very open. She is super open about her passions and the things/people she loves. It's also a great cover for how guarded she is about her negative emotions. This runs up against her primary motivator (see below).

2. Capabilities: Outside of raw physical capabilities Marcy is extremely competent. She is a polymath and basically a genius. She is a force of nature. We see this several times, but most potently in New Wartwood. In at most 16 hours, Marcy masons constructs new fronts for downtime Wartwood using marble, builds a working novelty clock tower, casted an enormous gold statue, constructs a working train, floods the town, saves everyone, unfloods the town, and then rebuilds everyone's homes. All executed by her with financial support from the mayor and some labor from Joe Sparrow. (and not to put too fine a point on it, but New Wartwood comes after The First Temple. So that was all Baseline Marcy. No calamity powers.)

Given the Materials, Information, and Time to study, she is capable of overcoming any practical problem. This is why to be challenged in this AU she has to be lacking one of those 3 things or is driven by core trait 1 or 3. 

3. Motivation: I believe that Marcy's driving motivation for most things she does, ultimately, is love. Not (just) romantic love mind you, but all sorts. Love for science, for lore, and magic. Love for games, media, and puzzles. Love for her friends, and in this AU, for her family. A desire to be loved by the people she cares about.

And love can be a beautiful motivator and can be a force for immense good. However, and this is crucial, love is not a moral compass. And outside of helping/supporting the people she cares about, I don't think she has a strong one of those.

Marcy's obsessive love for puzzles leads to Anne and the Plantars almost getting killed several times in the first temple. Her desire to be accepted/beloved by the people of Wartwood leads to the whole town almost getting destroyed. And, of course, her fear of losing her friends leads her to effectively kidnapping them to Amphibia. Then that same fear leads to her doubling down on trying to keep them by her side forever.

In Conclusion: I don't think these traits make Marcy a bad person. But I think in the right circumstances, it can make her a very dangerous person. And that is what we see in this chapter

Comments

I was honestly a little overwhelmed last week by the response the last chapter got. I hope this one lived up to the build up! I wish I could respond to everyonebut I don't have the characters to spare this week. But please know that seeing everyone's responses from the thoughtful analysis to the emotional catharsis absolutely makes the effort I put into all this worth it. 

Also shout out to the person/people maintaining the tvtropes page. Your efforts are noticed and appreciated.

---

Final Thoughts

Just so everyone knows, this is not a big tone shift for the fic in general, this is closer to a Reunions or True Colors game changer episode. Marcy's not about to become some brooding edge lord... but a good bit of her naivete is gone now, and that will effect her characterization going forward. 

Speaking of, frog cutetanuki-chan did a fantastic job with the art for this chapter. Absolutely stunning. You can really see the loss of innocence in her expression.

Next Week: Something with a bit lower stakes. Thanks for reading. Have a good one .

Chapter 13: A Common Cause

Summary:

Hop Pop decides to run for mayor of Wartwood and signs on for more than he expected.

- Marcy's Journal -

Day 63 in Amphibia,

There's an Archive in Wartwood! IT'S A MASSIVE LIBRARY FULL OF BOOKS! I ran out of things to read in Hop Pop's library so he suggested I check out the archives and they’re great! There's books about the valley, about the flora and fauna! It's everything I could have dreamed of. 

Unfortunately my first trip just confirmed that Toadstool is basically immune to the law. How is there no check on his power to acquit himself of any crime? Only the Captain of Toad Tower or the King of All of Amphibia is able to really charge him with a crime while he’s in power. Bluh.

On an interesting note, I think I have stumbled upon a theory behind the origin behind Wartwood's xenophobia. Since Wartwood was built on swampland there is a weight limit that if exceeded would flood the whole town! So every person who moves into town or family that builds a new house is another weight to bear. Being unwelcoming must become an unspoken civic duty. 

[The following section of the journal has been decoded for the convenience of the reader.]

The archive was also a dead end for looking into the Calamity Box. Somehow the Plantar Family Tome seems more information on it than the whole of the archives. Which does make the mystery behind the Plantars all the more interesting, if frustrating in this case. Gonna keep looking just in case but it isn’t looking good. Might need to look outside of the valley.

Haven't been able to invoke Ram again, or figure what they were. Gonna bring it up with Maddie and see if it's some witchcraft related thing. It’s not, she had no idea what I was talking about.

No news from Toad Tower yet either.

---

Marcy closed the pages to another large tome. Another bust vis a vis the Calamity box, but she had learned some interesting factoids about different wood lacquer techniques in chest construction. She leaned back in her chair in the archive. It was nice to be somewhere so quiet. 

All of a sudden Marcy heard the bang on wood against stone coming from the entrance. "Marcy! Marcy!" Sprig came running down the stair way. 

Marcy turned to see what was the matter. "Sprig? Was I about to get locked in again?" Marcy looked towards the crystal that focused the light on the door. Didn't look like it was close to sundown yet. 

"No! Come on, you gotta help, it's Hop Pop!" he said, with a worried tone. 

"Hop Pop?" Marcy started to gather her things to follow Sprig out, mind already racing for possible problems that might cause this kind of alarm. "What's wrong?"

"He's gonna humiliate himself!" Sprig said, lamenting. 

"More so than that dance party?" Marcy said skeptically. Hop Pop’s efforts to win Sylvia Sundew were as cringy as they were effective. 

"Way worse!" Sprig said with a shake of his head, "He's running for mayor!" he said, dramatically leaning against the entrance and then collapsing on the floor. 

Marcy paused in her ascent up the stairs, "oh! In that case I need to grab a few things!" Marcy rushed down the stairs towards the civic corner of the archive. 

"Good idea! Maybe you can use some of those dumb old books to convince him what a bad idea this all is!" Sprig nodded approvingly. 

---

Marcy dropped a book and an old scroll down on the Plantar family dinner table, grinning at Hop Pop, "Hop Pop, you have my complete and total support!" Marcy said with a wide grin. 

Hop Pop smiled, "Well, thank you Marcy, at least someone in this family believes in me." Hop Pop made a pointed look towards his two grandchildren, "now if you excuse me, I need to find my most mayoral leotard for the trials."

Marcy frowned, not caring for the mental image that was just forced into her head.

"What the heck Marcy!" Sprig said, looking betrayed. 

"Yeah!" Polly chimed in. "You humans don't keep your brains in your arms do you?" Polly poked at her arm cast. 

"No." Marcy answered, mildly insulted. "I just think Hop Pop would make a good mayor. Certainly better than Toadstool"

"But no frog has ever won against a toad!" Sprig protested, "and he's still sore about losing the stand. Losing the election might crush his spirit." He said with a frown.  

Marcy nodded sympathetically, "but that's why we need to support him! It's because of Toadstool we lost the stand!" Marcy argued, "Toadstool's run amok! He stole the town's money and faced no consequences?" she said, scandalized at the sheer audacity of the corruption. "Someone needs to run against him, and if it's Hop Pop, all the better."

Sprig and Polly looked at each other, seeming to come around on the idea.

Hop Pop came back, holding up a blue and orange leotard, “Which do you think is better? I think the blue really brings out my dignified side.”

Marcy elected to push past the question, "Oh, I got so caught up in everything that I forgot to ask, how did you end up running for mayor?" 

"Well, me n' the kids were down in the marketplace, Toadstool was boasting about the election coming up, and I just started speaking my mind, and before I knew it people were carrying me and calling for my candidacy!" 

"He grouched his way to the ballot." Polly clarified. 

"Alright, we need to come up with a strategy, so, I was thinking-" Marcy pulled out her journal and set it on the table to start jotting down ideas. 

Hop Pop held up a hand, "Marcy, I appreciate the sentiment but I want you resting till your arm heals. Besides, after that whole kerfuffle with the tax collectors, I don't think Toadstool could be less popular. As long as I make a decent showing at the mayoral trials, I'm a shoe in!" Hop Pop laughed.

It wasn't untrue, lots of folks seemed pretty fed up with the mayor when she visited town last time. The seed vender even brought it up out of nowhere, "That's true here in Wartwood, but what about the rest of the valley?" 

Hop Pop looked at her with a crooked eyebrow, "Marcy, I'm not running for mayor of the valley " Hop Pop said like the notion was ridiculous.

Marcy chuckled nervously, "I mean... you kind of are?" she argued. She looked around for support but only met with bewildered faces "cause you'll be acting magistrate?" Marcy  elaborated to equal confusion. "Oh boy. Sprig, can you help me lay this out?" She picked up the old scroll she had taken from the archive. With Sprig's help she got it stretched out across the kitchen table. It was made of thick crinkling paper. 

"This is a copy of the document that officially established Frog Valley as a province in the kingdom." There was a small map of Amphibia at the top with the section colored in to represent where the valley was. Below it was a rough sketch of the valley, "usually a province would be ruled over by a magistrate, who would act as the civil leader of the province while the captain of the local Toad Tower would act as the military leader." Her finger started gliding over the page looking for the section. "However, a city needs to be a certain size to justify the infrastructure for a magistrate. So in the case of smaller provinces like Frog Valley usually they would be managed by the magistrate of the next province over." Marcy found the section and pointed it out to Hop Pop who put on his reading glasses. "Problem with that is that Frog Valley is cut off from the rest of the kingdom for 4 months of the year."

Hop Pop mumbled out some of the legalese as he looked down at the document. Before his eyes opened wide, "As Wartwood is the closest settlement to the mountain pass, it will serve as the seat of the acting magistrate, its mayor. As such, the election for mayor will be open to all citizens of the valley!?" Sprig pulled a chair over before Hop Pop collapsed backwards into it.  "Welp, I'm doomed." Hop Pop said with as much confidence in his loss as he had had in his victory only moments ago.

"Hey, come on, don't just give up already!" Marcy encouraged as she and Polly wrapped up the old scroll. 

"Marcy, Toadstool campaigns all year round!" Hop Pop said with some resentment, "it's basically all he does! And the election is in four days for Pete's sake!"

Ah. Okay, that wasn't a lot of time, "Okay. So we'll get some of the townsfolk to help out, we'll go to some of these other settlements and get things started. All we need is some word of mouth to and then we can boot Toadstool right out! I brought this census so we can focus our efforts where they'll have the most effect." she said holding a thin hard backed book.

"You really think people around town would go that far to get me elected?" Hop Pop said a little doubtfully. 

"Well, you said they were the ones who put you up for the job right?" Marcy said encouragingly. 

"They did seem pretty excited about it." Sprig admitted. 

Hop Pop nodded, considering everything and getting his confidence back, "Well, maybe we can give it a shot!"

---

"Alright everyone! If we're going to get Hop Pop elected, we're gonna need to spread out far and wide." Marcy glanced around at everyone who had come to volunteer. Felicia Sundew and Aldor Flour had been quick recruits. Loggle had been convinced with the promise of lowering the rent for shops in town. Mrs. Croaker invited herself after hearing about it. Sprig and Polly were there, but had tuned out ages ago.

Marcy focused her gaze down at the map on the living room table trying to keep the anxiety of being the center of attention from swallowing her, "Considering how poorly Toadstool is about running Wartwood, I doubt he's been properly looking after the other towns in the valley. We just need to let folks know there's another option."

Marcy pointed to the western point on the Map, "who thinks they can handle going out towards Lily Paddington?"

Mrs. Croaker spoke up first, "I think I can handle that. I've got some old colleagues who settled out there. I'm confident they'd get on board and get the word out."

Hop Pop nodded, "Wow, I didn't think dairy farmers would be so politically minded."

"Dairy farmers!?" Mrs. Croaker exclaimed, clearly caught off guard for a moment. Then caught herself, squinting her eyes suspiciously, "ah right. Dairy farmers. Ordinary dairy farmers."

Marcy added another mental tick next to figuring out what the deal was with Mrs. Croaker. It was still pretty low priority, considering everything else going on, but her past sounded so mysterious . "Alright, what about Swamp Shiro? Anyone got any connections out there?"

"I donnnnn..." Loggle offered immediately and paused before continuing, "nnnn't know if they'll remember me, but I used to have some good friends in the smith’s guild up that way." 

"Perfect, I'll leave it to you then!" Marcy said happily, this was going great, "that just leaves Bog Bottom, do-" before she could even finish the words a collective groan was let out from everyone present. 

"Bog Bottom! Do we really need to bother?" Mrs. Croaker said with a shake of her head. 

"I don't know anyone from that town and let me tell you, I'm better for it." Felicia agreed. 

"Are we sure they're literate enough to vote?" Hop Pop asked seriously. 

Marcy looked around a little bewildered. She had picked up there was some vague dislike of the southernmost village in the valley, but she had always assumed it was the same baseline distrust Wartwood had of all outsiders. "What's so bad about Bog Bottom?"

"Well I heard they smell," Aldar offered.

"They're just ungrateful." Felicia said with a shake of her head, "My grandmother Olivia, rest her soul, she had a friend who helped some Bog Bottomer's wagon from out of a ditch and just went on their way."

Marcy frowned, "okay but does anyone have any personal experience or-"

Loggle slammed his fist onto the table, "They tried to kill meeeeeeeee-" everyone gasped, "eeiiiiii business. Kill my business. Doubled the price on their lumber a couple years back. Had to find a new supplier."

Marcy paused for any other addition. "Okay, but we still need them to swing the vote. We can't just write off a whole quarter of the valley for Toadstool."

There was grumbling but no clear volunteer. 

"Alright." Marcy said, "I can go that way then, we should all-" Marcy tried to move on, but was interrupted. 

"Oh no you don't." Hop Pop scolded, "you should be resting. I wouldn't want you on the roads alone, even if it wasn't to Bog Bottom. If someone needs to go, I can do it."

"That won't work," Marcy shook her head, "You need to be here for the trials. Besides, I'm basically a walking billboard for Toadstool's corruption." Marcy lifted up her mending arm and winced, "ow."

"Marcy-" Hop Pop scowled, ready to continue the argument.

"I'll go with her, Hopediah," Felicia Sundew piped up. "Sylvia can look after the cafe for a day or so?" 

Hop Pop frowned, he didn't like it, but didn't argue the point any further. 

"Thanks Mrs. Sundew." Marcy smiled appreciatively, "so remember the most important thing is to get the word out as best you can. See if anyone wants to come for the final trial in a few days. Polly, Sprig, you stick with Hop Pop and keep him on track alright?" her two siblings gave a salute, Marcy took a breath, "Alright, let's get to it everyone! Make sure to take a box of buttons with you!"

Everyone started to move and she felt Sprig's eyes on her in question. Marcy shook her head before he nudged her with an elbow. 

Marcy swallowed, a little nervous but spoke up, "Um, one more thing?" she bit her lip as attention shifted back to her. "I, um, I came here, to Amphibia I mean, with two friends but we got separated..." She reached into her bag and pulled out a few portraits of Anne she had drawn at Sprig's suggestion, "I'm pretty sure one of them, Anne, is in the valley and I'd appreciate it if you could keep an eye out." she half held out the sheets of paper, unsure, "I'm just  a little... I'm worried about her."

Mrs. Croaker walked forward and took one of the sheets, looking it over with her reading glasses, "by frog your kind are ugly ." she said critically, " but I'll keep my head on a swivel." she assured me. "If she's been around Lily Paddington I'll know soon enough."

Marcy smiled as the others took one as well. 

---

"He set you up to take the fall?" a young frog prompted with a shocked expression.

"Yup, after he tried to take all the tax money he told the tax collectors I was responsible. They took me back to Toad Tower, where I got hurt..." she pointed to her scar and then lifted up her arm. Scandalized murmurs came from the assembled crowd.

"How'd you get away?" asked an older woman sympathetically. 

"Well, someone blew a war horn when some herons were nearby. I was able to slip away in the chaos." the assembled chattered, shaking their heads in disapproval for the mayor they had, for the most part, just heard about. 

"Well I didn't know we had a say in who the mayor of Wartwood was, but now I'll be sure to vote for Hopediah." One of the frogs in the crowd announced, taking a button from Felicia, leading to a number of other frogs following their lead, 

"The election is in three days! Hopediah will be boxing the current mayor on the last one!" Felicia informed everyone. Marcy let out a pleased sigh, looking about at the town around them. 

Bog Bottom was a noticeably more swampy region of the valley, even relative to Wartwood. Most of the houses were built into large trees with artificial platforms and rope bridges connecting different parts of the town together. The locals had been also utterly welcoming and considerate. Most had expressed some surprise at Marcy's appearance, but it was welcome compared to the torches she was greeted with in Wartwood. Aside from every man, woman, and child being strapped with a large bowie knife; everyone seemed perfectly normal.

"This place seems great!" Marcy says looking back at Felicia. "Little cold maybe, but I don't get why you all were so against coming down here."

Felicia frowned, looking around skeptically, "Well, appearances can be deceiving, it's character that matters."

"Excuse me?" A little blue axolotl girl with messy brown hair came walking up carefully carrying two steaming clay mugs. "Mah Great Auntie noticed you were talking a lot and thought you might like some of this honey tea!" Marcy looked behind her and there was an old grandmotherly frog on the porch of one of the towns.

Marcy took the cup, enjoying the warmth in her hands, "thank you!" She was pretty thirsty and took a drink. The taste was a little off due to the cheap clay container but for the most part it did soothe her throat a great deal. 

Felicia took the drink, "thank you so much dear, that was very kind of you." Felicia praised. The axolotl beamed before rushing back to her great aunt, asking if she'd done a good job. Marcy gave Felicia a knowing look as she took a slow sip from her tea. "Okay, so maybe they're fine." Felicia conceded. "It wouldn't be the first time I may have judged prematurely." she said looking back at Marcy apologetically. 

Marcy smiled at the concession and continued to sip from her mug.

"I did want to thank you, by the way, for what you did for the kids." Felicia said, twisting the cup around. Marcy looked up a little surprised. "She's been cagey on the details, but Ivy made it pretty clear that they wouldn't have gotten away from the tower without you. Aldar passes along his thanks as well."

"You're thanking me?" Marcy asked, confused, "they were in danger because of me..."

"They were in danger because they put themselves there." Felicia corrected. "Because you were a good friend to them. You made sure their reckless decision wasn't fatal..." Felicia looked a little guilty down into her mug, "I am sorry...  about that day when the tax collectors came. I-"

"-were protecting Ivy." Marcy finished without hesitation, "I know."

Felicia looked at Marcy, searching her expression for some bitter note or sarcasm, but found none. She nodded, happy to let the topic drop. She took a drink from her tea and her face wrinkled a bit, "that clay is doing nothing good for this tea..."

Marcy was about to weigh in when suddenly a giant spiked-back cicada dropped down through the fog right in front of them. Marcy staggered as the wooden platform shook under the impact. Bessie chirped in distress, pulling into her shell. Felicia stepped in front of Marcy in a defensive stance. The cicada was taller than both of them and Felicia was still a frog that barely reached her waist. Marcy dived into her bag, but she hadn't had much time to restock her arsenal, she just had an emergency dose of healing potion and her new shiny red boil beads.

The cicada turned on them and screeched at them right before a massive spear shot out from the fog and pinned it to the ground. " Meat! " came a battle cry and at least a dozen amphibians, including the young axolotl. They came out from the fog to descend upon the bug, ironically, like a swarm of locusts. Marcy and Felicia flinched as the cicada was stripped of its carapace, screeching briefly before things went silent. 

Other amphibians came rushing along but seeing how far along in the butchering process it was, threw up their hands and turned away disgruntled.

"Oh my..." Felicia said as they both looked on in fascinated horror.  

Marcy and Felicia watched on as the amphibians who had gotten there walked away with arms full of raw bug meat or bits of carved away carapace. The little axolotl skipped with her share back to her great aunt. 

A small pile of bug meat was left behind and a middle aged frog called up into the trees, "those are for you Jerry! Good Shooting." Marcy strained her eyes and saw a figure waving back in the fog. He was sitting behind a ballista that Marcy had earlier mistaken as part of the tree's silhouette. 

One of the frogs caught sight of her and Felicia gawking and came over, a friendly smile, clothes covered in bug guts. "First time in Bog Bottom, eh?" 

"Yeah, uh..." Felicia said, at a loss for words. 

"You are really effective hunters." Marcy complimented. 

"Haha, yeah." he waved his hand modestly, "Not a lot of good farmland out here, so we get food where we can." he pulled out a stained cloth to wrap his new groceries in. "What brings you lot around here?"

Marcy pulled up an electoral button, "Well, did you know you have a voice and interest in the mayoral election of Wartwood?"

"Get out of town, you folk are from Wartwood?" he grinned good naturedly, "How's ol' Soggy Joe doing these days?"

---

Marcy and Felicia came back to Wartwood the day after with about two dozen citizens of Bog Bottom in tow. They set up in what was becoming a pretty sizable tent city  around the edge of town. 

Marcy dropped Felicia off at the cafe where a number of the most dangerous looking old folks Marcy had ever seen were chatting amicably with Mrs. Croaker and Sylvia. 

Marcy checked in with the others to see if they saw any sign of Anne, but no luck. Or nothing that didn't sound like cryptid talk anyways. Rumors of a gangly creature levitating stones and shape changing in the wilderness

She thanked them for trying and started on the way home, holding Bessie's reins in one hand. She relaxed and took in the sound of the chirping and skittering of the smaller wildlife around Wartwood.

Marcy wished that the creepy crawlies were her only company, as she passed a bend in the road she saw the mayoral snail with its gold trimmed tent. She was just going to ride on by, but Toady jumped out in front of Bessie. For a half second she thought to play a one sided game of chicken with the little brown noser, but came to a reluctant stop. 

The tent flap was pulled aside and Toadstool looked out, "Hey there… Marcy, right? Would you mind having a chat for a moment."

Marcy scowled at him, but flinched as thunder rumbled overhead, a drizzle of rain started to come down, she grumbled. She still hadn't had time to replace her umbrella... she looked defiantly back at Toadstool, who now looked smug. "I'm listening." she stated simply as her hair became wet. 

Toadstool let out a disgruntled breath, but tied off the tent flap so he wouldn't have to keep holding it open. "Hopediah has done well in the trials so far. I’m sure you had something to do with that." Toadstool meant it as a compliment, Marcy guessed, implying she was passing on some supernatural favor. Her smile at the news Hop Pop had done well was misinterpreted as confirmation. "Brought a lot of folks here tomorrow to watch the big fight." he mentioned offhand. 

"And?" Marcy asked impatiently.

"Well, let's say you talked to Hopediah, and if he goes down easy tomorrow… I'll see to it that the Plantar stand is restored to the marketplace, rent free for as long as I'm mayor." 

"Oh wow..." Marcy said and Toadstool's expression got a little smug, thinking he had convinced her, "You must really be worried you're gonna lose," she grinned at his soured expression. 

Toadstool stared at her coldly, "well… if that’s not enough there is the misunderstanding to keep in mind." Toadstool said with a coy grin. 

"Misunderstanding?"

"Well Toad's have been running Wartwood since basically the beginning. If the toads up in the tower were to hear about such an upset, they might come to investigate." He said with a shrug, "might find something they thought lost. Might have some words for the frogs who hid it."

Marcy's blood ran cold, at first she thought it was fear, but then she realized that there was a hard edge to the emotion. It was anger. This toad, this cesspit of corruption, had quadrupled the rent and taken the stand from them in the first place! Embezzled the money then framed her for stealing it. This ended up endangering her life and by extension the lives of her friends and family who came to rescue.

 Now he was making threats?

Empty Threats a part of her mind reminded her. Her arm felt sore as memories of the tower flooded through her. 

Her laugh started as bitter sob but evolved into a cackle as the absurdity of the situation really settled into place. Lightning crashed in the distance, illuminating her face.  Toadstool suddenly became wary of the creature, remembering again the burning body of the mantis.

As the laugh died away with a shudder of breath, she she stared the mayor down, "No deal." she said, picking up the reins again, "Have a concession speech ready." she snapped the reins and drove Bessie forward, and Toady dived out of the way and into the mud. 

"You sure you want to make that decision for them?" Toadstool called after her, "that medicine money is only gonna stretch so far..."

That gave Marcy pause, She hurried Bessie back to the home front and got her into the barn. She trudged her way back towards the main house, happy to see it. 

Marcy walked in to see the Plantars all sitting in the living room. Hop Pop was reading some book Marcy didn't quite recognize, while Sprig and Polly played on her Shift. As they realized she had come back, she heard the ping of the game being paused before they both ran over, "Marcy!" Sprig said,  "blach-" and was narrowly caught by the collar by Hop Pop before he could jump into Marcy's still recovering arms. 

"You survived?" Polly asked affectionately. 

"Narrowly, thanks to the locals." Marcy was quickly sat in the armchair by the fire to dry off as she reported on her efforts down south. In turn, Sprig and Polly filled her in on the first three trials and how Hop Pop had crushed them. Hop Pop tried in vain to act modest but he was clearly pretty pleased with his performance. Though he was a little nervous about the fight the next day. 

Soon the kids were yawning and Hop Pop decided it was about time for all of them to turn in for the night. Marcy helped with what few night chores she could manage and then headed down to her basement. Instead of going straight to bed she went to the little makeshift bookcase she had made. On it, she pulled out the red ledger she had taken from Toady's desk. She set it down on her work table and started to flip through it studying the entries carefully.

---

The crowd went absolutely wild as Hop Pop delivered the winning uppercut to Toadstool. The toad staggered back before falling face down on the mat, out cold. A rousing cheer sounded from around the ring, chanting Hop Pop's name in triumph. So many people had come from out of town that the fight had to be moved outside, there were folks sitting on roofs to get a good look. For Marcy’s part, she let out a sigh of relief. Four and O for the Mayoral trials.  

The local vote followed soon after, the votes from out of town having been brought in with the visitors the day before. From the chatter from all the Amphibians it was pretty clear where the wind was blowing. An hour or so later the announcement was ready to be made, and everyone waited in anticipation for the first frog magistrate of the valley to be announced. There were certainly some locals who bristled at all the outsiders who were milling about town. But, between the coppers they were spending at the local shops and the common cause in Hop Pop, many were warming to the other amphibians of the valley.

Albus Duckweed, the newt who had been the official judge and arbiter of the mayoral trials, took to the stage in front of the whole town, "time to announce the tallied votes!" he called out and the crowd quieted. Marcy stood with her family, hand curled into a fist. "With a total of five thousand-three hundred and twenty-seven votes, Hopediah Planter!"

"Yes!" Marcy called out in excitement, pumping her fist, kneeling down to pull Hop Pop into a side hug "We did it! We-" seeing Marcy react the crowd started to twitter with excitement. Which was abruptly cut short.

"and with over twenty-thousand votes, Mayor Toadstool!" Albus said clapping. Toadstool strode out to center stage as Toady started to shower the stage with confetti. Albus came forward to award the mayoral sash, "Congratulations, sir!"

"Well, looks like democracy wins out again." Toadstool said, without a hint of irony.

Marcy could feel Hop Pop deflate in her arm, along with the crowd's mood.

Marcy slowly stood up, looking on in bewilderment. She couldn't believe it. 

Toadstool couldn't possibly be making it this obvious. 

"That's impossible." Marcy said incredulously. 

Hop Pop gave her a reassuring pat, "hey, we did our best. Five thousand votes ain't nothing to be ashamed of. Hell, that's more people than I've ever met..." 

Marcy looked down at Hop Pop with a look of surprise. Then she looked out at the crowd. People were slowly starting to disperse, the hopeful mood shattered. No one was going to even contest it? They had to know something was wrong! Were they really that gullible?

No it wasn't that... they were beaten down. The toads had beaten the fight out of everyone so long ago that the idea that things could change was too difficult to imagine. Marcy felt an anchor of frustration root her in place as Hop Pop tried to pull her away. She purposely raised her voice, "No- I mean Hop Pop, this is literally impossible!" she felt her stomach fill with anxiety as people in the crowd turned to listen to her. 

"Now little lady, no one likes a sore loser you know." Toadstool said smugly. Somehow looking down on her at half her height. 

"I mean that there aren't twenty thousand amphibians in the valley! Let alone twenty- five thousand!" she shouted out with as much confidence as she could muster. 

Toadstool looked a little nervous, but career politician that he was, largely kept it out of his voice, "Well that's ridiculous! How could I have gotten that many votes otherwise?" he laughed. 

"You must have stuffed the ballots, cause you knew you were going to lose." Marcy said, still projecting her voice, trying to ignore the churning in her stomach as over two hundred Amphibians focused their attention on her. 

"Slander!" Toadstool said, offended, "really, just because your side lost-"

"I have proof!" Marcy shot back, body shaking with righteous indignation and raw nerves. She dug into her bag and pulled out a black book, "this is a census, conducted by the royal tax guild five years ago!" The royal webbed-foot of the kingdom was imprinted on its front and Marcy made sure it was displayed to the crowd. The crowd had largely regained focus, those who had initially walked away were being drawn back by the commotion. "Albus,” she offered the book to the newt. “Could you open to page five and read for everyone?" 

Albus took the book and flipped to the page, Marcy pointed down to the last paragraph, "...at this time we estimate the total population of frog valley at roughly nine and a half thousand souls!" a gasp went through the crowd. 

"Well, that's a pretty old document so-" Toadstool tried to weasel as his plan rapidly began backfiring. 

Marcy addressed the crowd, "I haven't been here for five years. But does anyone remember a flood of immigrants in that time?" murmurs but no call of agreement. "Anyone feel like they have twice as many neighbors as five years ago?" again, silence, but a growing agitation as Marcy picked the façade apart. Marcy turned to Albus. "Where were the votes counted?"

Albus looked a little nervous as the crowd's increasing ire was unjustly shifted onto him, "I don't know!" he said defensively, "I just read the sheet Toady handed me." he said waving the sheet of paper with the counted votes.

The locals were scandalized by the news and informed the visitors about who Toady was in Wartwood. Marcy resisted the urge to bark out an incredulous laugh. There was just no oversight whatsoever. She stared up at Toady who was standing on the roof above the stage fist deep in a bag full of confetti. "Well?"

Toady looked down nervously to Toadstool who gave a little nod. "They’re inside, in the main hall?" He offered with a shrug. 

Marcy frowned but waved to the crowd, "Shall we?" Marcy pushed aside one of the curtains that made up the stage and through the front door of Town Hollow. 

"Now hold on a second let's, all just calm down and-" Toadstool tried to stop them, but Marcy could hear the crowd already following her. 

The Plantars filed in behind her, first inside, Hop Pop whispered up at Marcy, "You sure about all this?"

"Absolutely." Marcy said shakily, the sound of so many people following her made her nauseous. She fished out a marker from the front pouch of her shoulder bag. "Hey Sprig can I borrow your arm?" she pulled off the cap of the marker with her teeth. Sprig happily obliged, offering his arm without question. Marcy started to scribble a note down on his skin, "I want you to mix into the crowd. When I say 'now' read this out to everyone,okay?" 

"You got it!" Sprig said, stretching out his arm to practice his line under his breath. 

She strode into the main hall, sure enough, sitting out in the open in the center of the assembly were two large piles of paper. One made up of all loose sheets, while the other had bags puffed out full of paper, with a few loose sheets dangled around it. 

Marcy went to the bigger pile first and picked up a few loose sheets of paper. As expected, they all had Toadstool written in a familiar shorthand. Even a glance at the other, smaller pile of papers were for Hop Pop, some in very careful capital letters, and some with a flourish of cursive.

"See there- ho...  there you have it!" Toadstool said jogging ahead of the crowd. "It’s just like I said, this freak of nature is just wasting everyone’s time." he said, gesturing towards Marcy. 

Marcy didn’t respond, looking at the bags of ‘votes’ suspiciously. She turned back to the crowd "Could I borrow a knife from someone?" Toadstool backed away nervously as flashes of steel shone in the crowd. Clearly several citizens from Bog Bottom were happy to oblige. Marcy quickly added, "sheathed, please!" there was some grumbling and rustling before someone tossed a sheathed knife her way. Marcy tried to catch it one handed, in a casual cool way. Unfortunately she fumbled the catch and it ended up bonking off of her head and onto the ground. 

"Isn't she delightful folks?" Toadstool added jovially, but there was a nervous edge to his tone. "knows all sorts of tricks..."

Marcy managed to shake the knife out of the sheath and plunged it into one of the bags of votes. She made sure to make a wide tear before grabbing at the other side of the bag and shaking it out. What came out was a plume of brown dust followed by a few mostly moth eaten shreds of paper. "These must be years old!" Marcy said, covering her nose and mouth to avoid coughing up a storm. She then reached down to a number of the newer sheets and held them up, "and these?" she waved them before handing them off to some people in the crowd, "have the exact same handwriting!"

Angry eyes were once again on Toadstool as the sheets were shared around. He looked like he was ready to panic, and Marcy savored it before the coup d'etat. 

"Well, I think it's fairly obvious what happened here... I guess the only thing left is, what do we do now?" she postured with a grin, then paused as there was no follow up, "I said , I wonder what we do now! " 

"Oh," came Sprig's voice from the middle of the crowd, he then affected a clearly forced 'mature' voice, " I say we run him out of town! "

"Yeah!"

"No Good Cheat!"

"Get em'!"

Like a horde of ants all working together the wave surged around Toadstool and hauled him up off the ground and started to carry him out of town hollow. "Now wait just a minuuuuute!!!" Toadstool tried to object but whatever tenuous grasp he had on the situation was lost long ago. 

Marcy wanted to follow, and see things through to the end, but as Town Hollow emptied and everyone’s eyes were off her, Marcy collapsed to her knees, nerves absolutely shot. She felt mentally drained from being the center of attention. She fell back into Hop Pop’s horde of votes, enjoying the solitude as the crowd carried Toadstool ever farther away. Hop Pop could handle things from here. 

Afterall he was the mayor now. 

Toadstool was indeed handled. Exiled for election fraud, his assets seized for his embezzlement. He was leaving town with the shirt on his back and enough food to get somewhere else. 

A truly massive celebration followed. Casks of all kinds were brought out from the mayor's horde of luxuries and people ate and drank to their heart's content. Bards visiting from Lily Paddington played music for everyone. Some of the folks from Swamp Shiro improvised various attractions for people to enjoy. Meanwhile the folks from Bog Bottom shared in barbequing some of what they hunted. There was genuine excitement in the air, like something had really changed for the better. 

Marcy experienced most of this at a distance. She hid out in Maddie’s room of the bakery recharging her mental battery. She and Maddie chatted about witchcraft for a good chunk of the night, occasionally joined by Ivy, Sprig, and Polly whenever they needed a break from the party. It was after midnight when Hop Pop had finally managed to slip away and collect them to go home for the night. 

Polly was asleep by the time they got on Bessie. Sprig, hyped up on sweets, crashed before they got home. Hop Pop took the two younger Plantars while Marcy  put on a kettle to boil. Hop Pop came down dressed in his night clothes as both of them settled down in front of the fireplace. Hop Pop in his favorite armchair and Marcy on a footstool. Both of them sagging from exhaustion.

"Congratulations Mr. Mayor," Marcy said with a weary smile.

"All thanks to my campaign manager. Without you, I wouldn't have imagined the whole valley would be voting. Not to mention you kept Toadstool from stealing the election at the last second." he toasted his mug up and Marcy clinked it before they both took deep soothing drinks of tea.

As they both finished their mugs, Marcy looked over, "I uh... had some ideas for some projects around town, if you wanna-"

"Tomorrow... It's been a long day,” he ran a hand down his face, “and most of it was after I was in a boxing match." he chuckled. He sat up with a little groan of pain, "before bed there is something I wanted to give you though, as a little thank you. So, just wait down here a minute." He said before heading upstairs. 

Once he was out of sight, Marcy took the opportunity to quietly open her bag. She pulled out a sheaf of papers she had prepared the night before. A dozen and a half ballot sheets that read 'Toadstool' painstakingly forged in Toady's handwriting. Her final ace in the hole.

Marcy was happy she didn't have to use it, Hop Pop deserved to win on his own merits. However She was a little disappointed that she didn't get to use it. She had done a good job at mimicking Toady’s handwriting on such short notice.

Oh well, it never hurt to be a little overprepared. She tossed the ballots into the fireplace and used the poker to make sure each burned to cinders. 

Hop Pop came down the stairs not long after, a small black box in his hands. "Sorry, it's not wrapped." he smiled, handing Marcy the little box. "I know you've been missing your friend..." Hop Pop said sympathetically, "I thought this might help."

Marcy took the box and popped it open. Sitting in a little red velvet cushion was an... egg? It was dyed red with yellow patterns, with an hourglass symbol in the center. It looked like some kind of occult Easter egg. Marcy smiled awkwardly, in the way where you appreciated the thought behind a gift more than the gift itself. "Thanks Hop Pop, but I don't really need another pet..."

Hop Pop stared at her queerly for a moment before shaking his head with a laugh, "Ah, no that's not-'' he paused to collect himself. "Let me explain. That there is a ticket to the Bizarre Bazaar. A secretive traveling night market that only shows up near Wartwood once a year. You can find all sorts of things there... maybe even a lead on your lost friend."

Marcy looked down, reconsidering the egg, "How’s it work?"

“The creature inside will start to shake the day before the bazaar opens, just crack it open after sundown and the creature will lead you right to it.” Hop Pop explained. 

Marcy marveled at the little thing, a dozen questions springing to mind. How exactly did the freshly born creature know where to go? What kind of creature laid an egg like this? If the market was moved would it still know where to go? She decided to focus on the one Hop Pop would actually know, “How did you get involved in all this?” Hop Pop had never seemed like the clandestine sort to Marcy.  

Hop Pop chuckled, "I was young once too you know. Used to be part of a dangerous racing circuit connected to the bazaar. Haven't shown up to one of these in years, but they always send me an invitation." He shook his head wistfully at memories long past. “I can’t promise you’ll find what you're looking for there, but you deserve the chance to see for yourself…”

Marcy nodded, closing the box carefully, "thank you Hop Pop. I really appreciate all this."

---

Marcy took steadying breaths as she waited in the wings of the town hollow stage trying not to panic. Hop Pop was on stage talking to the crowd. It was mostly down to local Wartwoodians, but a few people from around the valley stuck around to hear out their new magistrates plan. 

Hop Pop was on stage, delivering a speech with the oversized mayoral sash wrapped around his chest twice over. "So after looking at the books, we're going to be returning the rent for the marketplace to its original level," clapping and cheers. "And now!" Hop Pop announced, "to explain a bit about some new projects to help the valley, my assistant, and adoptive granddaughter," he said the words with affectionate pride. "Marcy!" Hop Pop stepped aside for Marcy to step behind the podium that was much too short for her.

Marcy gripped tight to her journal as Sprig followed after her with a number of poster boards they had painstakingly prepared. She put her journal on the lectern before waving awkwardly to everyone, "Hello!" 

Everyone clapped politely as she entered and then waited in silence. While public opinion shifted after the day before, there was still some hesitation towards her as the strange creature. 

"Okay, so first, me and Ho- me and the mayor looked over the tax books," Sprig held up a pie chart with a simplified breakdown of the taxes. About forty percent was divided between the toads and the capital. Another 20 percent was spent on what could charitably be called town improvements (mostly statues and improvements to the mayor’s residence), and finally “Toadstool was embezzling about forty percent of all the taxes.”

There was some murmuring but not the outrage Marcy had expected. Hop Pop called out, "embezzling is basically just stealing!" 

There was the outrage she’d been expecting. Marcy waited until people quieted down.

"Right, so a lot of that we're gonna give back to all of you, like with lowering the rent," she said, gesturing to Hop Pop. "But, I wanted to pitch everyone on how we can spend some of that money projects to help, not just Wartwood, but the whole valley be more prosperous"

There was some hesitation in the crowd, but also curiosity, "what kind of improvements?" 

"I'm glad you asked!" Marcy said with a smile and signaled Sprig. Sprig pulled up a poster board that had a doodle Marcy had made of a number of zapapedles all curling around a central copper pole, "So where I'm from, settlements have something called an energy grid..."

---

Percy breathed hard as he reached the edge of the settlement, "d-don't worry Braddock. We’ve found someplace to help you," he said. Braddock hummed but didn't answer coherently. She was still shivering and breathing hard. 

After that creature had set about destroying the tower, Percy had cowered inside. He saw Braddock get thrown from the walls when the heron crashed through them. Her leg had gotten hurt and Percy had braved the courtyard to get her inside and together they managed to escape through the sewers. The first couple of days had actually been fun, just the two of them. Percy ran his material by Braddock and Braddock taught him how to do survival stuff. 

It was around the third day when Braddock started getting sick.  

Percy had acted as her crutch as they made their way through the forests around Toad Tower. Without a map they were well and truly lost. Percy never gave up hope, even as more and more of Braddock's weight settled on his side. Now they were in this... eerily quiet town. 

"Hello?" he called out, but was met with silence. He checked in on a couple of the businesses, but they weren’t open. 

He wondered for a moment if the creature had come through here as well and sent all the residents to flight. Then to his relief he heard the sound of some kind of meeting going on and made his way over that way. As he more or less carried Braddok towards it he practiced the line he had been practicing for a day and a half now. 

"Under the authority of Toad Tower, I demand that you render aid. Under the authority of Toad Tower, I demand that you render aid-"

Percy pushed open the door and could hear there were many people, someone must be able to help. He pushed aside the curtain to the main hall and called out, "On The Authority Of-" was all he got out before the words died on his lips. 

The room was packed full of amphibians of all walks of life, but that wasn't what made him nervous. It was the fact that all eyes were directed towards a podium at the front of the room where the creature was standing . Fear gripped him, he couldn't help it. The creature looked back on him in surprise.

"Is she alright?" a frog in the crowd asked, looking at Braddock. 

"I, uh," Percy tried to walk away, but ended up falling to the ground with Braddok. 

Percy watched as the creature slipped off from the stage and started sprinting towards them, ready to finish what she had started. Percy scrambled for his weapon, but then paused as the creature tripped over nothing and fell to the ground. She was helped up by a few in the crowd, said ‘thank you’ and then jogged the rest of the way.

The creature slid down to look at Braddock, feeling at her head. "Fever... What happened?" she asked and Percy looked at her a little bewildered. She knew what happened. The creature made eye contact and then bobbed her head in concession before clarifying, " How was she hurt?"

"When... when the heron burst through the walls she hurt her leg really badly?" Percy said, unsure what was going on. 

The creature pulled up Braddok's pant leg to reveal the bandages they had put on the first few hours away from Toad Tower. She gently unwrapped the bandages and winced at the wound underneath. "Oh yeah, that's infected." She tapped the ground for a few moments before appealing to the crowd, "I need clean water, vinegar, and a bottle of wine! The old mayor had some upstairs!" frogs started to rush off as she added, "Something to boil them all in, too! Something clean!" 

Percy watched as the frogs did her bidding, which meant they were on her side. He trembled a bit. 

"Listen, I'm going to do what I can to save her, but you have to trust me." She said looking at Percy, Percy nodded slowly, desperate to help Braddock. Eventually everyone came back and she started to unwrap the wound. She took the water and vinegar and poured them into a cauldron. She took the bottle but handed it back "sorry can you uncork this?" It was at that moment that Percy realized the creature was injured, one arm in a cast. "Your name is Percy right?" she was handed back the bottle, uncorked

"Yes?" he said, unsure if he should give that away. 

"Marcy. Alright, Percy-" she upended the bottle of wine into the cauldron, "this mixture, when it's ready, is going to disinfect the wound on her leg, but the problem is that it has already spread. This-" she paused, pulling out a small red vial of liquid from her bag, " should purge the infection from inside her body. So when I say now, I need you to feed it to her alright?"

Percy took the vial, unsure of what might happen if he refused. The creature, Marcy, pulled out a small red object that kind of looked like candy and then dropped it into the cauldron. It plunked beneath the surface and in moments the entire mixture began to boil violently. The creature looked proud and put a ladle in. 

"Alright, so this is gonna hurt okay?" she said to Braddok, "be careful when feeding that to her." to Percy.

Percy nodded, pulling Braddok's head into his lap. Braddok blinked her eyes open to him, looking dazed from pain. "Hey, I... got some help I think?"

Braddok didn't have time to question it as Marcy poured the mixture over the wound causing Braddok to squirm in pain. 

The creature looked on sympathetically but plunged the ladle in again, "start... now!" she poured more of the mixture on. 

"Hey drink this okay?" Percy said, unsure of what else he could do. Braddok, tough as ever, withstood the pain and drank down the mysterious red liquid. In moments her breathing got slower and less labored. Her face stopped straining in pain and relaxed, falling into a peaceful sleep for the first time in days. Percy looked down at her leg and it was knitting together again. There was... a bit missing, but it was closed and didn't look diseased anymore! 

Marcy let out a sigh of relief, sitting back. She looked up at Percy, her eyes suddenly focused. "I guess you're a little surprised to see me?" she started off, and Percy could read some intent he could not articulate. "I managed to escape, too... when the herons attacked." 

"But you..." Percy started but stopped as Marcy gave him a look. It wasn’t an angry look, but it was pensive. Asking him for his silence. He became aware of the crowd talking around them. 

"Such a good heart..."

"...even after what they did to her at the tower..."

"...is that gash on her forehead..."

Percy pieced together the vibe and glanced down at Braddock. He swallowed down his first statement, "but you were in the dungeon at the top of the tower?" 

The creature nodded appreciatively, relaxing a bit, "Well, luckily Sprig here managed to break me out of there with Ivy and Maddie." A young pink frog saddled up next to the creature and she patted him on the head affectionately. She also gestured at a little yellow frog who looked at him suspiciously and a blue frog that was staring daggers right into Percy's soul. "... we were pretty much out when the herons arrived…” she said before looking back at Percy with knowing eyes, “Why didn't you get help at the tower? You must have been wandering the wilderness for a week before finding Wartwood..." the creature now encouraged him to speak. 

"It was destroyed?" he said, hoping that was what she was looking for. There were gasps from all the frogs around them, they hadn’t heard? "It was pretty bad... I don't think many got away..." A low level of panic started to seize the room. 

"What are we going to do?"

"Who will deal with the dangerous creatures?"

"It's months until the frost subsides!" 

At the podium an older orange frog slamming his fist on the wood, trying to get everyone's attention. He was wearing a sash too big by half. Eventually he resorted to a gavel to get everyone to focus. "Alright everyone. Let's focus. These kinds of things are why we're having this meeting. So we can come together to solve problems not just as settlements, but as a valley."

A nervousness was still in the air as Marcy stood again to her full height, Percy hardly recognized the creature who had been curled up in the cell at Toad Tower, "I might have a suggestion?"

The older frog rolled his eyes, "color me surprised." he said with an affectionate sarcasm. "Well?"

"This seems like just the sort of situation the Frontier Defense Clause was written for." she said and there was a confused murmuring. 

The older frog coughed and looked a little embarrassed, "Well, obviously I know what that is, but why don't you elaborate for everyone else?"

Marcy nodded, clearly happy to oblige, "In the event that Toad Tower becomes unable or unwilling to defend the valley," she spoke clearly from memory, "then the acting magistrate, Wartwood's mayor," she gestured towards the older frog. Percy could see an excitement just below the creatures words, "Is within their right and authority to establish a well regulated militia, " 

Notes:

Marcy Has Ceased Playing Vagabondia Chronicles. Marcy Has Started Playing Horse n' Sword

Fun Marcy Headcanon of the week: One summer at age 7, Marcy accidently borrowed a mis-shelved Machiavelli's The Prince from the library, mistaking its title for a different fantasy novel. She did not particularly enjoy it, but did resort to it out of boredom

Toadstool 100% stole that election in canon and you can't convince me otherwise. The math just doesn't work out Wartwood is one of only 4 notable settlements in frog valley with a voting population of 88. Even if you assume every other settlement has 5 times their population (~1300 total) and that only 10% of the population lived close enough to the settlements to be counted in on them (~13000 total). AND we assume that Every single soul in frog valley was so civically minded that they voted in this election, there's still 7000 people unaccounted for who voted for Toadstool.

The toad was willing to lie, cheat, embezzle, and bribe his way through life. I really don't think he'd draw a moral line at election fraud. 

---

Feedback

Man everyone seemed to enjoy last weeks chapter. Just based on the stats alone we have a lot of new readers so I would love to welcome them! Thanks for reading! I hope you continue to enjoy it. I'm really happy that last weeks chapter really hit everyone as something Marcy could do, if pushed into it. It was one of the chapters I was most excited to get to but also most nervous to share. 

I got so many comments last week, I don't know where to begin thanking everyone. I'm going to limit it to things I feel I can comment on, but Genuinely, thank you everyone for coming on this ride with me. It's a delight to write for such an engaged audience

Also editing this minutes before release, but we just crossed 500 Kudos, Which is wild, thanks everyone! :D

@Everyone who enjoyed my Marcy analysis
I'm so glad you liked it! That was probably draft 3 trying to explain it within the character limit. Its comforting to know that people appreciated/found it interesting

@Everyone in emotional distress last chapter
Not gonna lie, glad I made you feral, if I did. It's great when your writing strikes a chord. :D

@Amphibifan Re: The Girls Being in 8th Grade in this AU rather than 7th. 
I could see this, for characterization reasons I wanted them to be in 8th grade, but generally the age range for 8th grade is 13-14, with Anne being on the younger side of that. Just as a fun fact, I headcanon Anne as the youngest in the group, Marcy in the middle, and Sasha as the oldest. 

Shout out to @mituni-art and @navi-bluu on tumblr for doing Fanart! Thank you both so much :D

---

Final Thoughts

Man, things are really heating up over in the world of Canon. Can't wait to see how this whole thing comes to an end and how it will compare with my own plans for the AU. That sleepover scene was brutal to watch. 

Speaking of this AU though, this chapter is basically the cap on the second major arc of the story. Chapters 1-6 were very focused on Marcy and the Plantar's bonding (with some final closure in chapter 10). Then chapter 7-13 broadened that scope out to the town and the valley and Marcy slowly becoming accepted & Destroying her enemies. Which means that the next arc (14-20) will be our capstone for the season, and I am super excited to share it with all of you. 

Though as a heads up, the timeline compared to canon for these last 7 chapters is gonna get a little wonky. Anarchy one might say. But I think its solid storytelling, so I hope you all enjoy. 

 

Chapter 14: The Bizarre Bazaar

Summary:

Marcy seeks for leads in the valley's most infamous night market.

- Marcy's Journal -

[There are pages upon pages of notes on various projects. From rough logistics for various valley and town projects to detailed alchemical formulas and theories. This entry is written in small print in the corner]

D. 69 in Amph.

So busy. Many irons in the fire. 

Egg still not hatching >:(

---

"So I just dip this in here and that'll do it?" Loggle asked skeptically, holding a wooden hand ax he had carved at Marcy's request. 

"And let it soak for about 5 seconds," Marcy added. Maddie, her collaborator nodded from next to her. 

Loggle did as instructed, dipping it into a clear liquid that rapidly bubbled as the ax head was dipped inside. After five seconds he removed it, the ax had the same texture, but the surface now had a reflection and metallic sheen that wood shouldn't, "well I'll be..." Loggle remarked, he walked over to a log they had prepared beforehand and swung the ax down onto it, splitting it in two. "hya!" 

Marcy pumped her fist and hi-fived Maddie. "Wood to steel transmutation potion is a succ-"

"Hya!" Loggle screamed as he buried the ax into the head of a wooden frog bust he had in his workshop. He breathed out and seemed to collect himself. "Ah, uh. Sorry girls, might have gotten a little carried away…" he laughed. 

As they started talking about the logistics of carving and arming the new militia with such arms, Marcy slipped her hand into her bag, to the small black box Hop Pop had gifted her. Her fingers settled onto the shell of the egg inside. She let them linger, but the egg made no sign of life, so she removed her hand and clicked the box shut. 

---

"You humans sure do heal up quick..." Hop Pop said, carefully sawing off the cast from her arm. 

Marcy had to agree. Her arm should not have healed this quickly. While there was some stiffness from being kept still for the last couple of weeks, she had been healing abnormally quickly. She wasn’t sure if it was the health potions she’d been taking or whatever magic power was inside her, but she was grateful to be getting back the full use of her arm. 

Marcy stretched out her arm as it became free of the plaster, a little sore, but certainly now healed rather than broken. Outside her family waited for her and Sprig took the first opportunity to jump into a full hug. Marcy laughed as Polly jumped up into her hood that she had nobally sacrificed passage in while Marcy healed. 

Before heading out to help out on the farm, Marcy took a moment to take out the small black box, gently placing a hand on the egg. No shaking. With a sigh she closed it and put it securely away again. 

---

Marcy took a breath as she and Chuck finished another house. Another of Wartwood's homes was now situated securely upon a raised platform held in place by four massive posts. Marcy had been happy for the Tulip farmers' assistance, he was just about the only one who was as quick at carpentry as she was. 

"So, is this some kind of, whatchamacallit, witchcraft?" Mrs. Croaker asked skeptically. "Some kind of dark ritual?"

Marcy wiped some sweat from her brow, "Nope! Just good old water physics," she pointed to one of the four massive posts that burrowed into the earth and held up the house that was being rebuilt. "Those posts now bear the full weight of the house on top of it, and they're long enough to dive down below the water table of the swamp," she explained. "Thanks to that, the effective weight pushing down on Wartwood's foundation is a fraction of what it was before! If we do this with most of the buildings, we'll be able to add onto the town without worrying about flooding the whole place." Plus it might mean people will slowly let their fear of outsiders slowly die away. Not that Marcy was holding her breath on that one. 

Mrs. Croaker shrugged, indifferent. She lived outside of the main town anyways. 

As they finished up, Marcy started to consider the next house, she was stopped by Chuck. He silently held up a lunch bag to Marcy, who took it and sat down on the raised platform of the newly resettled house. 

As they enjoyed some roast beetle sandwiches, Marcy checked her little black box again. She held her fingers against the shell, expecting to feel no response. The same she had felt that morning. The way it had been yesterday and the day before that. 

But this time she felt a little shake, and in her surprise threw up the box. The egg was airborne and she bounced it from palm to palm trying to keep it from smashing on the ground, and ended up diving after it. She landed in the dirt with her hands gently clasped around the egg, the only thing lost being her dignity. It took all her restraint to not run off for the rest of the day to prepare. She only managed it by reminding herself that she had everything all laid out and prepared for days now. She would have ended up just twiddling her thumbs at home for five hours. 

---

Marcy heaved herself up onto Bessie's saddle. It was well after dinner and Marcy and Hop Pop had managed to slip out on the premise that he needed help tending to Bessie. Marcy didn't like lying to her siblings, but one of Hop Pop's conditions for her going to the Bazaar was that Sprig and Polly not come. She already planned on getting them some souvenirs as an apology. 

Hop Pop, satisfied with her preparations, gave a nod, "Alright, everything looks good. Sorry I can’t come with ya, but someone’s gotta watch out for the kids…" he turned to let her head out but paused, "Oh! One last thing." 

Hop Pop pulled out a small jingling sack from a separate bag, it had a rough 'P' sewn in frayed cloth. "here. I'll bet you'll need to grease a few palms here and there to find what you're looking for."

Marcy took the sack of coppers and was shocked by the heft, "Hop Pop, I can't take all this!" This was enough for groceries for a month. She estimated there to be at least coppers inside.

"Like spit you can't." Hop Pop said without hesitation. "That there is what's left of the money you earned with that whole potion business a while back. You earned it, it's yours to spend." Hop Pop insisted seriously. "I'll be getting plenty now as mayor." he assured, proudly pulling at the sides of his jacket. "You just be careful out there, don't go flashing that kind of coin around."

Marcy smiled, nodding, zipping the bag of copper into her shoulder bag for safe keeping. "Thanks Hop Pop."

He nodded and stepped aside so she could leave. Marcy took out the strangely decorated egg and, not knowing what else to do, cracked it against the wooden bench of Bessie's saddle. It cracked open like any other egg and a strange creature that looked like a fuzzy green creature blinked at its first moments of existence. Without hesitation the creature hopped off of her hand and started to sprint out of the barn. Marcy stared after it for a few moments before quickly snapping the reins to head off in pursuit. 

"See ya Hop Pop, I'll be careful!" Marcy called out over her shoulder as Bessie slithered out. 

Hop Pop saw her off and Marcy soon found a comfortable speed to follow the creature at. Even by Amphibia's standards it was an odd creature. No mouth or nose. Just two legs and an eye. 

She followed it into and through the forest and its twisting increasingly off beaten roads. Turning this way and that to the point that Marcy doubted if she could have found this place with the instructions told to her plainly. 

Eventually the creature, seemingly at random, dived into a hole and disappeared from sight. 

Marcy brought Bessie to a stop, staring at the hole with a worry that she had somehow messed up somehow. Then a mushroom nearby twinkled to life. Then another and another. She followed their progress until they terminated at an entrance, shrouded in fog and covered by a thick mossy curtain. At the top of the archway a symbol of an hourglass glowed, beckoning her to come inside.

Marcy took a few moments to pull Bessie off the main road to a hidden patch of forest, "Alright, you rest here for now okay girl? I'll be back soon enough." she promised and Bessie chirped in understanding and retreated into her shell. 

Marcy was about to turn to head into the bazaar when she heard a gasp of breath come from behind her. She whirled around, prepared to fight, only to see Sprig hanging out of Bessie's right saddlebag, gasping for air. He looked up at Marcy with a grin, "Are we there yet?"

Marcy let out a sigh, before whispering at Sprig, "Sprig, I thought you were back at the farm. How did you even find out about this?"

"You've been checking that weird egg for days now, and I know what a ticket for the bizarre bazaar looks like. I've always wanted to go, so I decided to hitch a ride."

"Sprig, Hop Pop said that you couldn't come, that was part of the deal for me going." While she appreciated the company, she wasn't thrilled to be putting Sprig in danger. 

Sprig raised a brow, "right, which is why I hid," he explained like it was obvious. "I didn't stuff myself in here cause it's comfy."

Okay options. First, let Sprig come. Unknown dangers, but with Marcy to protect him. Second, have him wait with Bessie. Known dangers of the forest. Plus him likely ignoring her and coming in anyway, but alone with aforementioned unknown dangers. Third, drive him back home to Hop Pop. Safest option but will burn precious time she might not have. Plus she probably wouldn’t be able to find her way back.  

Marcy took a breath, "Okay, here's the deal, you can come, but don't leave my side, okay?" Sprig gave a salute and Marcy smiled, secretly happy for the chance for the two of them to go on another adventure. 

They passed through the moss curtain and into a great earthen cave, "Whoa..." they both let out at the sight, eyes full of wonder. 

Dozens upon dozens of stalls all softly lit by red lantern flowers suspended by ropes. Ambient string music mixed with the hustle and bustle of dozens of people. A distant memory came to mind of accompanying the Boonchuy's to the Thai market day, though obviously the bazaar had a lot more criminals, weapons, and gambling. She used to look forward to the days up till Anne grew embarrassed by it. 

Marcy scanned through the stalls, aside from the prevalence of various food venders, just about any kind of shop or service under the red moon could be found here. She saw one vendor selling the skins and pelts of both beasts and other amphibians. Another was giving a toad a tattoo with the slightly venomous ink snake. Then there were venders hocking junk of all shapes and sizes. What was also odd was the vendors and the visitors were similarly of different shapes and sizes. She spotted several breeds of Amphibians she had never caught sight of in Wartwood like salamanders and bullfrogs. Plus a bunch of those weird creatures were- where did Sprig go?

 Marcy looked about, spotting the little pink frog and hurrying after him. "Sprig-" she scolded in a whisper, "next to me remember?"

"Right, sorry," Sprig said, eyes still wandering. 

Marcy was about to try and get his attention again, but a voice from the side caught her off guard. "Yeah, make sure the eyes are piercing." Marcy looked to her left and through the passersby, she could see the blue toad sitting in the tattoo chair talking to the indifferent artist, "I didn't get a good look at it, just fell out of bed, but it summoned monsters that toppled the entire tower into ruins. Me n’ three others jumped off the wall to get away! I was the only one to walk away..." Marcy took a moment to look at the art. 

A red moon crescent framed a figure of shadows, indistinct aside from a vague humanoid shape, its arm raised high. One eye was finished and glowed a ghostly green that reminded Marcy of Ram. Marcy swallowed hard before pushing  Sprig forward through the market and far from that particular stall. 

The two of them avoided a few drunkards passed out... or who she hoped were passed out, and around some gambling tables. Sprig was having the night of his young life. While Marcy was enjoying the ambiance, she felt a little stymied in what she was trying to find. Talking to normal strangers was not her specialty and plenty of people here were way scarier than the bagger frog at the Grub n' Go. Plus, no one had 'information broker' conveniently written on their stall, so she wasn't making much progress. 

Then her scanning eye stumbled across something. It was a stall that advertised relics from the past, which she at first dismissed as a probable scam. Then her eye spotted a golden plate that had the same frog iconography as the Calamity Box. It even had gold representations of the three gems. She pulled Sprig away from a fire breathing beetle riding challenge to look at it. 

Before she could get a closer look, a voice came from inside "See something you fancy?" a husky feminine voice  sounded from within the stall. A newt wearing a hooded dress stepped out from the shadows, one eye in a permanent squint and with several teeth missing. Two gloves gestured in welcome and it took a moment for Marcy to realize that one was attached to her tail, as she was missing one arm. "Velcome, Velcome to Valeriana's Stall of Mysteries." she said, tale gesturing out to the various artifacts. A small creature Marcy had taken to calling bug-birds fluttered onto a perch next to the merchant. It looked like a mostly plucked parrot with large fly-eyes.

"Marcy," Sprig said out of the side of his mouth, "I think she's missing an arm."

"Sprig," Marcy said, bopping him once on the head lightly, "don't be rude."

"and I can hear you." Valeriana added, unimpressed. 

"haha," Sprig laughed awkwardly before picking up a random cauldron. "What's this thing?"

Valeriana easily moved past the offense, "Just one of the treasures I've acquired in my years of travel." her tail glove gripped a kettle and poured water into the cauldron, causing a twisting little bonsai tree to suddenly grow. 

Marcy looked on in fascination, this was the first evidence she had seen of a real magic item. There were workarounds for cursed items in the dark arts, but that tree had grown from nothing. This cauldron was full on enchanted.

"I have seen and heard it all." Valeriana tempted with half lidded eyes. 

Marcy had a hundred questions about the treasures, and desperately wanted to buy one. But if she had really seen it all... "have you seen anyone like me?" Marcy asked, a little more desperately than she meant to, "like this?" Marcy retrieved her copy of Anne's portrait from her bag to show her. 

Valeriana took the portrait in hand, considering it, "hmmm... you know, she does seem familiar..."

Marcy's heart quickened. She fished out her purse of coppers and set it atop the edge of the stand. "How much?"

Valeriana looked at the bag a little amused, "unfortunately for you, I sell relics here, not information." She drawled. 

"I- I’ll need to buy something?" Marcy asked, freaking out a little. She grabbed at a tiny gold sheathed dagger, "Here, this, I'll take this!"

"Ha!" Valeriana barked a laugh, snatching the dagger away, "unless that purse is full of gold farthings, you can't afford even the cheapest of my relics." she said scornfully. "I do not trade away wonders for allowances."

Marcy trembled at the words. Her mind raced, trying to figure out some leverage she could have. 

Sprig laid a hand on her sleeve, "hey, it's okay, if she's seen her, maybe someone else has too!" 

"Doubtful..." Valeriana scoffed. Then looked contemplative, "though... Perhaps we could work out some kind of deal..."

"What?" Marcy asked without hesitation. 

"Well, while I certainly don't need your copper pieces, some of the other vendors might. And while I don't trade information for coin, a favor." Valeriana said slowly, seeming to warm to her own idea. 

"What do you need done?" Marcy asked impatiently. 

"Truth is, I made a small error earlier, usually I pick up some lunch to eat before I set up my stand. However I was a tad late in coming to the bazaar, and needed to rush to get things ready." she explained, sounding embarrassed. "If you were to go around and fetch me some of my favorites from around the bazaar… perhaps I would be willing to pass along the information you seek.” She gave a toothy grin like an alligator ready to feed.  “As friends, over a meal."

"Deal," Marcy tucked her coin purse back into her bag and held out her hand, Valeriana took it with an appreciable nod. 

Valeriana started listing things off quickly, "Alright, I want you to get me an everything beetle, three skewers of night crawlers, a writhing dumpling, and... some cookies. For dessert. Anything's fine as long as it has chocopeedles."

Sprig frowned, "that'll take the rest of the night!" he complained, throwing his hands up. "Marcy, are you sure this is worth it? What if she's lying!"

That gave Marcy a bit of hesitation. Her writing paused for a moment. Valeriana hadn’t exactly offered any kind of evidence that she knew anything.

"Her name is Anne Boonchuy, is it not?" Valeriana added. Marcy looked at her, searching her eyes for some kind of tell, "Am I wrong?"

Marcy shook her head before looking back to her brother. She kneeled down next to Sprig who was trying to sound out Anne's full name. Marcy caught his attention again by putting a hand on both shoulders "I know it sounds like a lot Sprig, but... this is the first lead I've had in months. I know you want to explore more, but this is what I came here to do." She said gesturing towards Valeriana "Please, I... I made a big mistake, and finding Anne is the first step in fixing it," she admitted.

Sprig's expression softened, then got excited, "alright, let's do it!" he said, easily swayed, "pretty sure I spotted, and tried most of those already!"

"Thanks Sprig." Marcy said, smiling, "Valeriana, we will be back soon." with that Marcy followed Sprig back into the thick of the bazaar. Unfortunately they had somehow started this venture at the midnight ‘lunch’ rush. Lots of people were having midnight meals, and that meant longer lines. It took a good ten minutes for her to get to the front of the skewer line. 

The vender, a bullfrog if she wasn't mistaken, spoke bruskly. "One skewer for two copper. Three skewers for five copper."

"Three night crawler skewers, please!" Marcy said, diving her hand into her bag. The vendor nodded and started to skewer a number of bugs on the end for grilling. 

Marcy was trying to be clandestine about retrieving the coppers, but couldn’t find it. Worry seeping into her stomach, she opened the zipper wider to look for the bag. Her blood ran cold. Her coin bag was gone. Over eighty copper gone without a trace. "No... no no no no!"

Sprig looked at her worried as she started to dig through pockets she knew wouldn't be able to hold the bag, and knew she hadn't put in there, "you alright there Marcy?" he asked. 

"It's gone all the copper-" 

"Hm?" Marcy looked up at the vendor who was holding onto her ordered skewers with an annoyed stare. 

"I... just set them aside, I'll get the coppers in-" Marcy was physically shoved aside by the large toad who had been behind her. 

"I'll take her order," he said and Marcy watched the skewers be traded away.. 

"Come on," Sprig insisted, "let's retrace our steps!"

They did, but Marcy had little hope even before they started. The first stall hadn't been that far from Valeriana, it was probably pickpocketed while she was waiting in line. She started to run hither and thither through the market, trying to find any source of copper they could. Sprig had managed to find one or two that had been lost in the dirt, but even if they could keep that up it wouldn’t be fast enough before the bazaar closed. 

As she thought about some way forward, she heard a loud announcement from nearby. "That's right everyone! It's a grand prix!" She turned to see a squat little frog man, a cartoonishly frog shaped, standing atop a makeshift stage. "We have over 100 coppers in the pot! Sign up or take you bets, the grand prix will be in twenty minutes!" Marcy looked up to where the man was holding up her purse full of coins. "We have plenty of spots left! Don't miss out folks, the grand prix doesn't come every bazaar!" 

"Hey!" Marcy strode forward pointing at the bag on the prize wall, "that's mine!"

"Ridiculous! We've had this prize planned since the last bazaar, you think we're just throwing this all together now?"

Marcy looked around at the various workmen moving things around, setting up ramps and various obstacles for the event. Clearly rushing to get things ready. Marcy turned an unimpressed eye back to the frog. "That 'P' on the bag? It stands for-"

The man looked back at the bag, "'Prize', I know." he said, gesturing grandly at the coin purse.

Marcy felt a little rage start to boil up, but saw from the shadows several of the tall hooded newts that enforced the arbitrary rules of the bazaar, waiting in the wings. Marcy bit down on her thumb nail as she felt a nervous pit of frustration in her stomach. Even if she stole the bag, she would need to then go and fetch and deliver the food to Valeriana before she was caught. Should she try gambling? Probably rigged, plus she didn’t have a great poker face.

"But if you are in need of coin, then might I suggest you join the grand prix?" he jumped from his raised perch down to Marcy, holding out a clip board. "Since you're so down on your luck, I'd be willing to waive the entry fee."

"Why?" Marcy demanded, skeptically.

He leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, "we're short a few racers, and the more contestants I get, the more money I pull in from the bets." He grinned, holding out the clipboard. 

"We can take em!" Sprig said confidently, puffing out his chest. 

Marcy nodded reluctantly, "...So this is some kind of race?"

Marcy listened to the explanation. Every racer would be given a colored motor roach, normally there was a small track and two racers. For the grand prix there was a single massive winding run through the whole of the bazaar and lasted only one lap. Other than crossing the finish line first and staying on the track there appeared to be no rules. Anything went in the bizarre bazaar a passerby had explained.. 

Marcy was assigned a green roach and looked back at Sprig a little guiltily. "You don't have to ride with me, you know, it might be dangerous."

Sprig rolled his eyes "fine, I'll just stay out here, all alone, with all of these fine folks in the crowd."

Marcy looked up to see a frog in the process of being accosted by the bazaar's guards. "I- I got the money! I swear!" He called out to uncaring onlookers before being dragged out of sight

Marcy grumbled, "get on." she relented. 

"Whoo hoo!" Sprig jumped into the saddle with gusto, sitting in the front saddle while Marcy took back. He grabbed at the reins but Marcy took them. 

"Yeah, no," Marcy said and Sprig looked back at her disappointed, "you bring your slingshot?"

Sprig smiled again as he pulled out his signature slingshot. 

"I was waiting for a more gift-appropriate time but..." Marcy pulled out a small satchel that looked weighed down with marbles. 

"Oh, "Sprig took the bag, pulling out a small yellow one that was semi-translucent and seemed to shine bright in the low light. "Well these look so fancy I don't really want to shoot em." he said appreciatively. 

Marcy smiled at the sentiment, but had to quash it. She leaned in and whispered, "those are alchemy shots Sprig, each one has a magic potion stored inside." Sprig's eyes widened in wonder and he nodded in understanding. 

Marcy quickly went through what each of the three colors did with Sprig as the announcer began calling each racer by name to the field. She just finished explaining the last when their "For our eighth and final racer, a team! Marcy and Sprig!" he announced

Marcy guided her roach towards the starting line, and swallowed hard at the competitors they had going against them. The competitors looked like some of the more dangerous folks that she had seen lingering about the bazaar.  The crowds were gathering near the start, some taking to standing atop stalls when the outskirts became too crowded to maneuver. 

The little thief took to the stage "Alright everyone! You know the rules, once around the bazaar! First one to go through the whole track is the winner!" Marcy took a breath, "On your marks!" she gripped the reins tightly, "Get set!" Sprig leaned in, jittery with excitement. "GO!"

A horn blared and the racers took off. Marcy snapped the reins and their roach went off at a start, but was slow compared to the more seasoned competitors. As they fell behind, she could read from their movements that there was a level of technique to roach riding that she simply didn't learn from snail riding. It didn't help that as a human with a frog passenger they were heavier than most of the racers. Marcy, refusing to give up, adjusted her stance and started to make up lost ground.

They were racing in the lanes with stalls speeding in a blur as they approached the first turn. From what she could tell, the majority of the race snaked through the stalls of the bazaar, cheered on by . She pulled roughly on the reins as they hit the turn, her roach's front two legs dug in while the back legs swung forward, allowing them to drift around the curve effortlessly. Thanks to some fierce fighting between her opponents, she was able to start catching up. 

She saw they were coming up on a gauntlet of obstacles. Ditches, wooden posts, and other things to wreck yourself on. The racer in first was already passing through. There was a slow ramp off to the right one could opt for to avoid the pits and traps, but it was way too slow in comparison... unless. "Sprig, black, right in the middle there!" she said and pointed out at the set of traps. 

Sprig nodded, quickly sorting through his gifted slingshot bullets. He drew back his shot and without missing a beat launched the marble between the other racers and into the obstacle course. This one had been her first to test. A smoke bomb bullet. A giant plume of black smoke suddenly engulfed the obstacle course just as the four racers ahead of them charged into. Marcy steered hers up the ramp as her competitors crashed into a chaotic pileup below. 

They drifted into the second turn as they raced after the top three.

The next one up was a tall newt with an eyepatch who smiled nastily at them, throwing down a jar. A noxious looking gase exploded out, Marcy was just barely able to avoid it, but caught the odor on the wind. It smelled like bug spray. "Green, hit the rider." Marcy instructed and Sprig pulled out a little green shot, pulled back, and fired. 

Sprig's deadeye skills hit their target without difficulty. A purple mixture splashed onto the coat of the rider, and vines started to crawl all over the newts body. He tried to wrestle them off, but only reached for his knife to cut them after it was too late. He became bound in the vines. He managed to stay mounted, but his ride slowed to a stop as he was no longer urging it on. Marcy and Sprig sped past him into third place. 

Third turn. 

Marcy sped their creature onward. Up ahead she saw a blue skinned toad trying to catch up to the rider in first. 

"Alright, this time, grab the yellow bead, but be sure to-" Marcy was part way through the instructions when the toad turned around to glare at them. Marcy recognized them as the toad who was getting tattooed earlier. The toad clearly recognized her as his eyes grew wide with fear, he wrenched his roach to the side, barreling it through the spectators. 

"Oh, looks like someone's trying to get ahead! Unfortunately going off road is one of the only grounds for disqualification!" The announcer called out.

Well, that worked… Now they were in second. For the moment Marcy focused her attention forward. The person in first appeared to be a frog of modest size, they were wearing their farming clothes and just seemed to be generally bouncing ahead without a care. The only thing out of place being a small keg he had tied to his back. 

"Still the yellow one, but be sure to close your eyes just before it hits."

Sprig nodded and Marcy felt an exhilaration overtake her, If they got past this one, that might be it. 

Sprig pulled back his shot and waited until the other racer started to turn to take the shot. As he turned, the rider smirked back at them, pulling out a green beetle from their back keg and hurling it at them. It intercepted the flashbang bullet with unbelievable accuracy. A bright blinding light hit her, and she desperately tried to blink away the spots as they went in for the turn. 

She should have slowed down, taken the curve slowly and tried to make up the distance once she recovered, but she knew deep down that it would be like giving up the race. 

She hit the corner too close, her roach struck the corner of a stand and the momentum flung Marcy and Sprig from the saddle. Marcy tumbled across the dirt in the road. Sprig, who was lighter than her, ended up soaring past into the crowd of onlookers..

Marcy groaned as she sat back, watching as the racer in first got away with her last chance to find Anne. 

"Marcy!" Sprig screamed from the sidelines. "Look Out!"

On instinct she looked behind herself to see the five racers they had left behind were moments away from trampling her.

---

Marcy, the raven haired human, knelt down next to the pink frog boy. "Please, I... I made a big mistake, and finding Anne is the first step in fixing it," she begged.

The little frog boy smiled and nodded his head "alright, let's do it! Pretty sure I spotted, and tried most of those already!"

"Thanks Sprig." the human said, she turned to look back at Valeriana, "Valeriana, we will be back with lunch soon." she assured before the both of them disappeared into the crowded traffic of the bazaar. 

"haha, nice kid." Valeriana mused to herself with a smile. Then she hoisted up the heavy coin purse she had just pilfered with her tail, "but poorly suited for this place." 

Valeriana walked back into her dimly lit stall, grabbing her staff along the way. she passed through the tent. Behind where her stall was a humble but exquisitely crafted carriage. It was made of old dark wood that once may have looked rich and dignified; but had seen too many storms, accidents, and seasons to stay unscarred. She walked around to get to the door inside. "Acolyte. Acolyte!" she called out as she walked. It was when she got to the door that she heard the gurgling sighs coming from inside. Valeriana shook her head, disappointed. Even if it was convenient for her ends at the moment, it was still frustrating. 

Valariana walked into the carriage and saw her acolyte, lying on her back, a book resting over face as she breathed in and out in rest. She wore a black dress borrowed from Valeriana with a dark blue cloak draped over her like a blanket. "Acolyte." Valeriana spoke softly like a mother to her tadpole, "it's time to vake up~" she said standing right next to her acolytes head. She gingerly raised her staff. " Anne! " she said harshly before slamming the staff a inch away from the girl's head in a bang. 

Anne Boonchuy, the first of two humans Valeriana had met, bolted upright, "IWasn'tSleeping," she protested before looking around and recalling where she was. She looked up a little guiltily at Valeriana shooting her finger guns. "Hey Val, just getting a little nap in before the bazaar tonight. This time I promise I won't pass out in the booth." Anne promised nobly. Rather than answer, Valeriana let the muffled sounds of the bazaar filter into them. Anne closed her eyes in embarrassment as realization dawned on her, "the bazaar has already started, hasn't it?"

"For about an hour, yes."

Anne stood up, pulling on and clasping her cloak properly before pulling her mess of hair back into a ponytail. "You still need help setting up, or-"

"I managed, somehow." Valeriana criticized. 

"Alright, want me to pick us up some food or-"

"Handled." Valeriana cut off. "No, I decided I wish to indulge myself tonight." Valeriana offered up the bag of coppers, "I made a big sale, and want to sponsor a grand prix tonight."

Anne took the bag with a whistle, impressed at its weight, "A grand prix?" Anne asked, curious. 

"For the roach races." Valeriana explained "if they have a pot big enough, they will sometimes host a massive race through the whole bazaar. It's been a couple of years since one's happened." 

Anne  frowned, "you want me to give all this to that little pickpocketing jerk?" 

Valeriana understood Anne's anger. The organizer of the roach races had almost stolen Anne's backpack during her first bazaar near Bog Bottom. Since then, Anne has entertained herself by antagonizing the host by stealing back all the money he picked pockets and returning it to the fleeced. 

"Vell, for better or vorse he runs the track, so yes, him." Valeriana confirmed. "Consider it a bit of punishment for leaving me to set up the stand all on my lonesome." Valeriana affected a scolding tone. 

Anne rolled her eyes, but Val could read in her body language that she did feel bad, "yeah, fine, alright." She flipped up the hood of her cloak to disguise herself and walked towards the door. Just before she left she paused before looking back at Valeriana suspiciously, "Wait a sec. This isn't one of those errands that seems like no big deal, but then turns out to test my moral character is it?" 

Valeriana smiled, proud of her shrewdness. Not that it would be enough, "Anne, don’t be ridiculous. I have been coming to the bazaar for years,I am simply an honest fan of the sport." she swore. 

Anne didn't look convinced, but let it go with a sigh, "ugh, whatever, last time I tried to spite one of these errands it blew up in my face anyways." She said with a resigned shrug. "I'll go ask about the grand prix, but if he refuses I'm spending all this on junk food!" she promised. “See ya later Val.”

Valeriana frowned, "It's master, acolyte!" she called after Anne. "Or at least use my full name, Valeriana."

"You got it Val!" Anne said, waving behind her, not really listening. 

Valeriana let out a long suffering sigh. Valeriana returned to her stall while Anne headed over to the race track. She stretched out, things were in motion, so now all she had to do was wait. Her tail snatched at a bowl of leftovers Anne had prepared the night before: a rice bowl, fried with segments of centipede, onions, and basil mixed with spices. She kicked her feet back as a passerby picked up the dagger the raven haired human had earlier inquired about buying.

"Hey," the customer had a nasally tone, "how much for this nifty dagger?"

Valeriana examined the common dagger whose sheath she had painted gold. "twenty copper"

"Fifteen!" the frog countered. 

"Eighteen. Take it or leave it." He took it and Valeriana clinked the coppers into her bag. 

It wasn't long before Anne returned to the stand, junk-foodless, confirming the grand prix was underway. A fact confirmed by the number of bazaar workers who came by to set up ropes in front of the stands to make the racetrack. Though people were still moving through normally until the race was to begin. Anne took up her normal place next to Val, kicking back with her head in one of her old trashy romance books. 

Valeriana acted proper, seeing to nosy window browsers while beneath the table her tail slowly wound a noise maker, holding it in place. The grand prix was imminent now, so she wouldn't have to wait for long. The little cretin who ran the races was already reading off the competitors.

"For our last racer, a team! Marcy and Sprig!" 

Valeriana kept facing forward, but kept an eye on her acolyte out of her periphery. At first Anne didn't respond at all, too absorbed in the affair between the count's daughter and her rugged but commoner suitor, the stable hand.  After a moment however she blinked, looking up and turning to Valeriana, "Hey, what name did he just say?"

"Sprig I believe?" Valeriana said coyly. "A frog name I think"

"No, the one before that." Anne said, putting her book aside. She sat up as if she could strain her neck to see through half a dozen stalls. 

"Marcy?" Valeriana shrugged. 

"... I'll be right back." Anne scooped up her backpack and climbed up the side of the stall to get onto the roof of the carriage. Valeriana listened as the race began, and Anne started recounting each racer "Frog... toad... newt... nother' newt." Anne said, each with tense disappointment, "Frog, frog, toad- Marcy!" Valeriana could practically hear sunshine enter into her voice. "That's my friend Marcy, she's here! And in a roach race!?" Anne jumped down from the carriage, looking worried, "doesn't she know how dangerous those are!? I gotta-"

Before she could finish the thought, Valeriana let go of her little noise maker. The wound up device started to rapidly strike a gong and Valeriana affected a look of shock and surprise. "Vhat!? No, no, it's too early!" she said and stood up, pacing about the stall.

"Val? What's up?" Anne's attention was divided, looking back to where the race was going on. 

"The sanctum!” she said reverently, “It's opening early, or may-maybe I got the date wrong?” she ran a hand through her hair. “But ve need to hurry!" she started to rapidly throw her merchandise haphazardly into boxes to be loaded into the carriage.

"The sanctum?" Anne said the words with worry. "Where information on my music box will be?"

"Yes!" she gestured to the gong that was slowly losing power, "that rings only when the sanctum has opened! We can still make it if we hurry!" her hand and tail worked in concert to pack everything up. 

"I-" Anne looked conflicted, "I'll be right back, I just need to-"

"There’s no time!” Valeriana stared at  “I have been waiting years for this moment." Valeriana lied, “If you want answers, you need to come with me, now. ” 

Anne frowned hesitating before reaching down and grabbing her backpack, "Seriously, like two minutes! Tops!" Anne said and sprinted out across the currently empty race track and then through a space between the stalls. 

Valeriana still affected her impatient expression until she was sure that Anne was away. Then a smile came to her lips as she considered her acolyte. Proud of her.

---

Anne sprinted through the stands. She knew she was getting close thanks to the sound of the cheering crowd. The whole way there she prayed Marcy hadn't wrecked herself already. Anne jumped up next to one of the stands that was fully wooden and hauled herself onto its roof. The wood creaked in protest along with the vendor, but Anne didn't care. She got up to get a better view of everything and caught sight of Marcy, in... fourth place! Anne started to race along the rooftop as Marcy sabotaged another competitor with some sort of vine thing. "Whoo! Go Marcy!" she cheered along with the crowd. 

There was someone riding with Marcy, but Anne couldn't get a clear look at them. Anne fell behind as Marcy rushed past her. She ran across the roofs and wooden supports of the various stalls along this lane of the market. She watched as the toad in second just jumped ship and fled away for some reason, leaving Marcy in second! She was about to give another hollering cheer in support when Anne noticed a bright flash go off just in front of Marcy, she couldn't see the source and it only lasted a moment with a startlingly loud bang. 

What she did see was Marcy's roach colliding with the corner of a stall at the end of the stretch of racetrack and Marcy and her passenger got flung off. Anne felt her anxiety spike as Marcy ragdolled across the dirt. To her relief, Anne saw she was getting up, but also realized that her friend wasn't recovering fast enough. The other racers were quickly making up lost ground on a crash course with her now unmounted friend. 

Anne sprinted as fast as she could, leaping from stall to stall as she was now in her own race against the racers to reach Marcy before they did, but it was futile. Even as she got close, she knew she wasn't going to make it in time. Anne had only one option. Mid-leap to the closest stall to Marcy, Anne adopted the gesture Valeriana had drilled into her. 

Thumb in. Inner two fingers up. Outer two fingers down. Half circle to the right . Anne landed on that last stall, gesture completed and focused fully on Marcy. The world fell to grays at the edges as she focused in on a single point. Anne already felt the enormous pressure she was putting on herself in the attempt, Marcy was way bigger and heavier than anything she had tried to lift. She didn't care, she just kept focus on what she was attempting.

Anne wanted Marcy moved, she wanted her away, she wanted her safe . 

An aura of blue energy coalesced around Marcy as she was gently lifted off the ground. Encouraged by the success, Anne closed her fists as if to secure her hold and then pulled back like she was hauling a net. Moments before the racers would have trampled her best friend, Marcy was launched into the air on a crash course with Anne. 

Anne grinned at her success and held out her arms, intending to catch Marcy. Then she felt a wave of dizziness and exhaustion. She had definitely overdone it. 

Rather than the confident heroic catch Anne had imagined, she more served to soften Marcy's landing. Anne let out a pained grunt as Marcy slammed into her. The two girls fell into a tumble, Anne just managing to keep them from falling off the roof of the stall. 

Anne felt a lightheadedness at the exertion of effort. She sat up slowly. 

Marcy, now twice thrown, managed to get her bearings enough to sit up, "sorry." she said, taking stock of her own injuries "I don't really know what just..." Marcy looked up apologetically, but as her eyes met Anne's her expression went blank. "Anne?" her voice was quiet, disbelief evident. 

Anne held onto her head to keep herself from passing out. But she gave her oldest friend a strained but earnest smile, "hey Mar-Mar..."

"Anne!" Marcy scramble-leapt into a hug at Anne. It was about as close to bone crushing as Marcy could manage, and Anne returned the hug, feeling a happy tear start to crease the corner of her eye. Anne had literally dreamed of this moment for a few months, the feeling of warmth she felt was long missed. She let out a little laugh, amazed at her fortune. 

After a few moments however, Anne sensed something was wrong. She felt a tremor from Marcy, a fluttering heave of breath as her grip felt less joyful and more like Anne was an anchor Marcy was desperately holding onto. Anne felt her collar grow wet where Marcy's head was tucked against it. "Whoa whoa. Marcy?" Anne gently, but firmly, separated the two of them, putting her hands on Marcy's shoulders. 

Despite a wide smile, tears were streaming down Marcy’s face, "Sorry, sorry-" she apologized, hiccuping out a sobbing-laugh.

"What's wrong?" Anne fretted. Did Anne throw her too hard? Was she hurt when she crashed earlier?

Marcy brought up a sweatshirt sleeve to rub at the tears from her eyes, then let her hand rest over one of Anne’s. Brown eyes shined as they looked at Anne with warmth. With relief. With… something Anne couldn’t quite put to words. "I'm just so happy to see you." 

Anne felt a smile creep to her face and sympathy tears bubble to the surface. She felt her face warm up, embarrassed a bit. "Oh Marcy..." she pulled Marcy into another tight hug, "I've missed you too!" They stayed like that for a little bit Anne felt tension in her shoulders she had been holding onto slowly fade away. Marcy was safe. She was safe and in her arms. None worse for wear... though maybe her sweatshirt could use a wash. 

"Ahem.'' The two girls were shaken out of their reverie by a... little pink frog, waiting patiently a few steps away. He wore simple pants and a vest with pretty cool aviator goggles on a weird looking cap. 

Marcy peeled herself away from the hug, and Anne frowned down at the little frog. Couldn't he see they were having a moment? Well, he looked young... really young actually, what was he doing at the bazaar? Anne's look quickly shifted from annoyed to concerned. "Oh, uh, hey there little man, you looking for your parents or something?" Anne looked around at the crowd briefly, but it was futile. 

"Sister, actually." the little pink frog corrected. He pulled at Marcy's sleeve giving her a faux offended look, "I'm alright too, by the way." 

Marcy chuckled, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes, "I saw you land in the crowd you dork!" before grabbing at the frog and pulling him in for a half hug half body hold. The frog laughed and Anne started to relax. "Anne, this is Sprig, my best frog friend. Sprig, this is Anne, one of my best human friends." Marcy introduced. 

"Sup," Anne nodded casually.

Sprig considered Anne for a moment, "just one of her best human friends, huh? Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get top billing someday." Marcy frowned down at him.

Anne smirked, "little man's got a mouth..." She reached out and pulled the rim of his little cap down over his eyes and held it there. Sprig giggled as he tried to wrestle control of his hat back. Anne let go after a few moments before taking the two of them in, "So, super glad your here, but why? The bazaar is hecka dangerous Mar-Mar."

"I came here trying to find you, or at least a lead." Marcy explained, "Sprig snuck along." She looked down at him with half lidded eyes. 

Sprig shrugged, unashamed, "I'm a rascal, what’re ya gonna do" he said with a shrug.  

Anne was already liking this kid, but for the moment focused back on Marcy. "So you entered the grand prix? How'd you get from looking for me to racing in a death race?" Anne asked as the distant scream of a racer sounded through the cavern. 

"Okay, so that does require a bit of explaining." Marcy admitted. "Basically we found this lady who said she'd seen you, but wanted us to go on this fetch quest for food around the bazaar." Anne nodded, following along so far. "But when we got to the first food stand all my money had been stolen!" Marcy said, scandalized. "We found it, but it was now the prize money for-"

Anne held up a hand as the pieces fell into place, "wait. This lady, was she a yellow newt with gray hair and big bushy eyebrows?" Marcy nodded, "wore a knife at her hip, weird gold neck thing?" she gestured at her neck and Marcy nodded, "Spoke vith a accent like vis?"

"So you do know her? Actually your dress looks really similar, is that the fashion in the bazaar?" 

Anne didn't Answer, burying her face in her hands, "ugh... Val ." Anne let out a grumble. "She stole your money and had me donate it. Probably another one of her tests ." she said the last words in a mocking tone. Anne looked over the bazaar, tracking the progress of the race by the excitement by the stands. They were nearing the last leg of the race, a single long straight shot that sat on the outside edge of the bazaar.

"Our racers have entered the final curve folks!" Anne flinched at the sound of that little slime ball's voice carried through a bullhorn.

Anne stood up, dusting herself off,  "Alright, you two wait here," she turned and realized they were still on the roof of a stand, "well, first, get down, then wait for me here."

She heard a brief word of protest from Marcy, but Anne had already landed below. 

She was about to rush out towards the starting line when- "Hey!" Anne turned, seeing a very large heavy set toad in exotic silks inside the stall they had all been on the roof of. "You think you can find some other joker’s roof to have dramatic confrontations on?" 

Anne shook her head. What were the chances, "Sorry Bubba, your stall's just too scenic what with its position on the corner," she shrugged.

"Corner spot’s good for business." Bubba responded with a shrug. 

"That it is!" Anne agreed, walking backwards into the crowd of traffic that had resumed now that the race had passed by, "if it makes you feel any better, this time it was a reunion not a fight!" she called over the din before rushing off. Cutting between and sometimes through the stalls she managed to make her way towards where roach races were set up. 

The starting line was crowded with folks ready to see the end of the race, a pedestal sat high with the purse Anne had delivered earlier. The little green race manager was distracted, reporting each crash and collision on the final stretch of road. 

"It's become anyone's race for this bag of over one hundred-" The announcer gestured towards the podium where the bag was supposed to be, only to see Anne there, having just climbed up and swiped it. A gasp went through the crowd at the sight. The little twerp got irate as Anne hopped down, "Hey! Bizarre Bazaar rules you can't-"

"Take anything from the prize wall!" Anne finished with a smug grin, "Podiums ain't prize walls!" Anne stuck out her tongue and flicked up a gesture. Blue energy pulled at the frog’s bow tie, dragging him off of his perch and onto the ground.

Art by Missakat [ Twitter - Tumblr ]

With that she started to rush through the crowds, back towards Marcy, happy to have fixed her mistake. 

"Attention racers! A new obstacle has appeared! The strange creature that haunts the bazaar has just stolen the prize money!" 

Uh oh. Anne threw up the hood of her cloak and secured Marcy's wallet on her belt. Her description began to be read off to the likely very angry motor roach racers. Anne got back to where Marcy and Sprig waited for her, Marcy looking particularly anxious but that evaporated as soon as she caught sight of Anne. 

"Anne! We were just talking to Bubba and-" Marcy started but stuttered to a stop as Anne grabbed her hand and started to run. 

"Got your money back, we gotta go!" she explained as she started to pull Marcy along, who in turn started to pull Sprig behind her in a daisy chain. "Have a good one Bubba! See you next time."

"If ya survive!" the toad called after with a hearty chuckle.  

Anne ran through the stalls holding tight onto Marcy's hand, "We're gonna head back to Val, she may have caused all this, but I'm sure she has a way out planned." Anne called back. 

Marcy smiled back at her, face flushed from running, however her expression became scared as she nodded ahead, "Anne!"

Ahead of them one of the racers, the newt Marcy had taken out earlier, stood in their way. A shine of steel hit off of the lantern light as he drew a fan of daggers. The good news was all the tracks had again been filled in with people. The bad news was that fact did not stop the rider from simply plowing through everyone in front of them. 

Anne pulled Marcy and Sprig down into an alleyway between two stands. She heard the thunks of daggers into wood or tearing through canvas as they rushed forward. Anne grit her teeth but smiled as she spotted refuge. "Into that stand!" she said, letting go of Marcy's hand so they could all vault inside. Anne's motion was smooth as silk, easily slipping into cover. Sprig, being a frog, was able to simply hop over the side. Marcy tried to mimic Anne's maneuver, but her foot got caught on the lip of the stand and almost fell in a tumble. Anne was just able to catch her before she landed on her face. She put an arm around Marcy's torso and pulled her in close so they were all out of sight. 

With her free hand Anne made the gesture Val had taught her. Counter clockwise this time she imagined a version of herself near the end of the lane. She imagined an version of herself at the end of the lane with the prize money in her hand. She could feel as the illusion took shape and drained at in the process. But it had payed off. The motor roach raced off in the direction Anne had imagined the illusion.

Anne let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, safe for the moment." Anne said looking to Marcy who was stiff as a board in her arm, "It's okay Marcy, we're good." she assured. 

Marcy nodded, "right, great." She slipped out of Anne's hold by awkwardly lifting the arm Anne had around her and then scooching to the side. Anne smiled, Marcy always had such a particular way of doing things. Marcy looked up and eyes went wide as she made a little wave, "oh, uh, hi..."

Anne looked up to the occupant of the stall, a tall newt looked down on the three of them, part of his face marred by some kind of nasty burn, he was missing at least one finger on each hand and stared down at them unblinking. He had two knives visible and moved like a newt who had three more hidden on his person. 

"Hey Nick!" Anne said with a waggle of fingers. 

"Hey Anne," his voice was surprisingly high pitched, like a squeaky toy. "This one of those friends you were telling me about?" he said looking at Marcy. 

"Yeah!" Anne gestured proudly at her friend, "this is Marcy my oldest friend in the world, and Sprig, her friend. Marcy, Sprig, this is Nick. He makes the best bubble tea."

Nick nodded cordially to Marcy and Sprig in turn before returning focus to Anne, "Got yourself in another mess of trouble, huh?" Nick asked with a raised brow. 

"You know me," Anne said with a shrug and both of them laughed. 

Marcy looked a little more comfortable, "how did you two become friends?" she asked, curious. 

"Anne here noticed that my old business partner and paramore wasn't treating me right. Real toxic one in retrospect." Nick said sadly. "She helped me break up with her and get my life back." 

Anne smiled smugly, pointing both thumbs back at herself, "Break up queen, undisputed," she bragged to Marcy. 

Suddenly a knife came soaring at Nick from somewhere in the bazaar, but he caught it one handed, twirling it and then stabbing it into his own stand. He turned, pointing his tail out at someone Anne's crew couldn't see, "It's over Julia! Get a life!" he shook his head before turning back to the three of them. "So, making a hot exit?" Nick asked, gathering together something on the stand.

"Looks like," Anne confirmed. 

"Well, here, a little something for the road," Nick handed them each a cup with a milky brown liquid and little black eggs at the bottom. 

"Ooh, awesome. Marcy, drink it quick before they hatch!" Anne started to suck down as much of her own tea as she was able. Marcy followed her lead and the two of them drank down as much as they could. 

"This is good! Thanks Nick!" Marcy grinned. 

Sprig looked down at his own cup before looking up at Nick, "before they hatch?" he asked, confused. 

"Eh, humans..." Nick nodded in agreement, "no accounting for taste."

Anne said her goodbyes and the three of them began to sneak through the bazaar. unbound by the road any longer the roaches were crawling over roofs and down lanes looking for them. They were no match for Anne’s skills though, they crept closer and closer to Valeriana's place in the market. "Okay, so I know Val made a pretty bad first impression." Anne prefaced turning back to Marcy and Sprig. 

"She stole from us," Marcy confirmed. 

"And sent us on a wild goose chase." Sprig added

"But really, she's great once you get past her cryptic nonsense." Anne promised as they rounded the last corner before the row of stalls Valeriana had set up in. "She does some sketchy stuff, but everything always ends up alright in the end. Usually even for the better." Anne smiled thinking of her mentor, "she's confident and doesn't take anyone's nonsense." Anne said as they passed by the neighbors that had set up by the stand. Marcy and Sprig looked worriedly past her, "honestly I want to be just like her!" she grinned before facing forward again and stumbling to a stop in front of where Val was supposed to be parked. In its place was... nothing. The stand, and its treasures. the wagon and Leandor. Valeriana too, all simply gone, without so much as tire marks to show its departure. 

Anne stared at the empty space, feeling a keen sense of loss. On some level she knew this was a possibility, Val had threatened to leave her behind on other occasions. But there was a part of her who always believed that was an empty bluff. That she wouldn't really just abandon her. 

Anne felt Marcy hovering right behind her and could feel her sympathy on her back. "Anne... you alright?" she put a hand on Anne’s shoulder

"She said we had to leave quick but... I didn't..."

Distantly, Anne could hear a call of anger, "There they are! That's the monster with the prize money!" 

Marcy hesitated for a moment before she grabbed Anne's hand and started pulling her towards the entrance. Anne was shook out of her daze, a little surprised to see Marcy take initiative. 

"Sprig!" Marcy called behind her, "There should be one more black shot!"

"You got it!" Anne watched as the little frog dug into a small pouch and loaded a slingshot, firing it back towards the ones chasing them. When it made contact a gout of black smoke engulfed the lane. 

"Ah! Not again!" one of their pursuers shouted out from the smoke.  

Anne looked back at Marcy, she hadn't noticed it in the excitement, but her hand felt a little rough. Fingers slightly calloused, grip stronger than Anne remembered.

They headed towards the entrance even as their pursuers closed in on them. They pushed through the mossy canopy that hid the bazaar from passersby. Two of the racers reached the entrance at the same time, and ended up getting wedge in the opening, both shouting out insults at their fleeing opponents as they tried to wrestle their roaches through.

Marcy didn't stop running, as they headed off the beaten path. Behind a bit of underbrush there was a snoozing giant purple snail, Marcy started to climb up into the saddle, while Sprig hopped into the wooden seat behind her. "Come on!" Marcy encouraged, holding out a hand to help Anne up. 

"Our getaway car is a snail?" Anne asked skeptically as she took Marcy's hand.

Marcy grinned at her, "don't underestimate Bessie!" the snail chirped in agreement as Anne scrambled into the seat next to Sprig, "Alright, Bessie! Things are getting messy!" 

“Things are getting- whoa!”Anne almost was thrown from her seat as the snail suddenly jolted forward. Anne held onto the side of the wooden chair as Marcy urged the snail forward. They began racing away from the bazaar but not quick enough the last three racers who were still determined to see their prize money were quickly catching up. "We got company!" Anne warned

"I got this," Marcy assured, and it took a moment to realize that Marcy was leaning forward in her saddle, retrieving some kind of berries? From inside the shell. "Marcy what are you-"

"Bessie, here, your favorite snack" Marcy said, leaning almost fully out of her seat. Anne could feel Sprig was as much on edge as shewas. Bessie on the other hand chirped in joy at the snack, even as her rider's footing started to slip, "uh oh." Marcy said, scrambling to grab onto something but failing to find it. 

"Marcy!" Sprig and Anne exclaimed in unison. Anne was too far to grab her before she fell, but Sprig on instinct shot out his tongue, wrapping around Marcy's torso. He tried to pull her back, but physics was going to drag him off right along with Marcy. Fortunately Anne was there to make up the weight difference. She wrapped Sprig in a bear hug and pulled him back like a living fishing pole.

Marcy managed to get back her footing and plopped herself back down in the saddle. "Thanks guys, that was a close one!" She said before focusing back on the road. 

Anne heard commotion behind them and looked back. A slick pink slime had been left in Bessie's wake and the roaches were slipping and sliding on it like an oil slick. As Marcy made a turn she saw the three riders run headlong into the underbrush with a calamitous crash. 

Danger now firmly behind them, Anne sat back in the wooden chair, Sprig still held securely in her arms. Playing out the last few moments in her head she looked down at the little frog boy, brow furrowed in thought. 

"Uh, hey?" Sprig said, a little nervous at the scrutiny. 

"You're the only reason Marcy has survived this world so far, aren't you?" she asked seriously. 

"I mean, she's gotten a lot better…" Sprig waffled, "but those first few weeks? Yeah, definitely."

Anne slouched back in her seat a bit, patting Sprig affectionately on the head, "Oh, we're gonna get along just fine Little Man."

" nickname ..." Sprig whispered to himself reverently as the three of them made their escape. 

They rode along in silence for a little while letting the night air relax them. Soon, as expected, Marcy explained to Anne where she had been the past couple months. Apparently Sprig's family, the Plantars, had taken her in after she fell into this world. They were heading back towards their farm and Marcy told about a few of the adventures they had been on in the meantime. Apparently they had fought a giant bird, reunited two friends, and gotten a crooked politician out of office. Marcy had been busy. Anne let her ramble, taking in the words passively as they traveled across this part of the valley. 

Before long they ended up pulling into a small farm, driving right up to the front porch. There Anne saw an older frog sitting on the porch, he looked a lot like Anne's own parents when she arrived way too late after an outing with the girls. Relieved that she was okay, but annoyed that she was so late coming back. 

Sitting in a little bucket next to the old-timer was a little pollywog napping in a bucket, Polly, if Anne had to guess. As Marcy and Sprig started to explain themselves to the older frog, the little Pollywog stirred awake, dazedly she took in the scene of Hop Pop scolding Marcy and Sprig. As her eyes finally landed on Anne she exclaimed, "Sprig found another one!?"

---

Marcy closed the trap door to her basement with a sigh of relief. Introducing Anne to Polly and Hop Pop had gone pretty well. Likely in part to the fact that it was past midnight and everyone was tired. Anne was looking about the basement, dropping her gifted bedroll next to Marcy's bed.

"Wow, you know, when you said they kept you in the basement I was a little worried, but this is actually really cozy." Anne smiled. “Spacious, too.”

Marcy looked around, appreciating the little improvements she'd made over the last couple months. “Yeah, they’ve been good to me…”

“I was surprised the old one was scolding you so seriously,” Anne chuckled. “He was acting like he was your actual parent or something.”

Marcy flinched at the comment, keeping the hurt from her voice, “haha… yeah.” Marcy noticed a look of annoyance on Anne's face. "What's up Anne?"

"Oh, uh, nothing big. Just realized I left the book I was reading with Val..."

"You were reading?" Marcy asked, trying, and failing, to keep the surprise out of her voice. 

"Hey, I can read!" Anne said, mildly offended. 

"Well, sure," Marcy conceded, "I meant voluntarily." Anne had always declined Marcy's invitations to go to the library and complained loudly at any assigned books. If she had some secret interest in reading anything besides magazines, Marcy wasn't privy to it, "You told me in third grade that reading was what people with bad taste in television did."

“That was 5 years ago!” Anne shrugged, embarrassed at first, but then put on a confident air, "I don't know... maybe my tastes have matured in this world. TV seems so... pedestrian now" she had an air of mock elegance that wouldn't have been out of place on the set of Grimthistle Manor. 

Marcy rolled her eyes, " so refined." suddenly she felt a rumble from her pocket as a little alarm played, she fished her phone out and the message ' Don't Forget To Feed Petey. ' displayed on the homescreen. "Oh, whoops. One sec." Marcy walked over to her desk, grabbing some bug bits and playfully tossing them underhand at the tomato plant. "Oh, did I tell you about Petey yet?" Petey snapped his jaws, bucking and weaving to grab each piece. "It's a pretty wild story, when I first got here I wanted to help out on the farm, right, but-" She was about to toss the last piece when she felt an urgent hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Anne staring at her with intense eyes. "Uh, hey Anne, need something?"

"Marcy... how does your phone still have power?" Anne said in a low serious tone. 

"Oh right, yours has probably been dead for weeks now, huh?"

Anne had both her hands on Marcy's shoulders again. "How did you charge your phone?"

Marcy raised an eyebrow, "Oh what happened to miss maturity? Thought TV was beneath you now?"

Anne's tone grew desperate, "Marcy. Please. I was on the last episode of the new season of Suspicion Island when my battery died, I need to know what happens!"

Marcy nodded, putting on a mask of grave seriousness. "Alright, I can show you, but, I won't lie, the process will be grueling. If I had known what it would cost before I figured it out?" Marcy shook her head, "I wouldn't have even tried... Are you sure you want to do this?" 

Anne hesitated, but nodded anyway. 

"Alright, first, I'll need your phone." Marcy held out her hand. Anne knelt down and unzipped the front pocket of her backpack and pulled out her phone and handed it to Marcy. Marcy nodded, "Alright..." stiffly, robotically even, Marcy moved the phone over Zappy's cage, "plop." She dropped the phone face up on top of the copper cage. Both Marcy and Anne crowded around the cage. After a few moments Zappy let out a bolt that traveled through the copper and into Anne's phone, which lit into its boot screen. Marcy put a finger to her lip to try and keep a straight face. “I’m sorry I have to put you through this, but it's the only way.”

Anne took a few moments to put it together. She raised one hand slowly before shoving Marcy one handedly. Marcy giggled before shoving back, Anne retrieved her pillow and before long the two were locked in a pillow fight. 

Both of them were giggling by the end, and Marcy felt better about a lot of things. This felt normal. Marcy felt normal . Maybe all those thoughts she had about Anne were... just a mistake. She had missed Anne, sure, she was her best friend; they had always been close. But that didn’t mean she loved her like that . Between the stress, guilt, and puberty; it’s understandable  that some wires got crossed. Nope, no friendship ruining feelings whatsoever. 

Anne laughed but paused as she let out a yawn. "Man, the bazaar really takes it out of you. You ready to get to bed?" Anne pulled off her yellow scrunchie and shook out her fluffy hair. She kneeled down and pulled out a tightly rolled white t shirt and pajama shorts.

Marcy watched on for a few moments, feeling her face warm up and heartbeat quicken. She was trying to convince herself that this was totally normal. Friends get changed together all the time. 

Anne undid her belt before tucking her arms in to pull off her dress, revealing a long tunic underneath.

This wasn't weird. Anne was objectively pretty and in shape. Admiring that didn’t mean-

Anne reached down to pull off her tunic and-

Marcy grabbed at her water bottle, turned on her heel and jogged up the steps. "I'm just going to get some water!" she said a little more quickly then she intended. 

"Good idea!" Anne called back, unconcerned, "Bring me a cup?"

Marcy pushed the trap door up and stepped through, quickly closing it behind her. She stood taking slow breaths, as a mixture of shame and embarrassment rolled over her. She ran a hand through her hair as she quietly resigned herself to the fact that she was absolutely, without doubt, crushing on her best friend. 

Marcy retrieved some cold water from a pitcher in the icebox and returned to find Anne trying to snatch her phone away from the electric cage. Marcy chuckled at her hesitant attempts and retrieved it with a pair of rubber tipped tongs from the wall. Marcy got ready for bed right after, a little self conscious with Anne in the room, but fortunately Anne was way too invested in her stacker game to care.

When they were both ready for bed, Marcy picked up Anne's bedroll from where she left it. "You can take the bed, you've been on the road for over a month now."

Anne frowned, walking over and snatching the bedroll away from Marcy. "Marcy, I'm not gonna kick you out of your own bed." Anne then pointed a thumb at herself proudly, "Besides, I have a great idea!" Anne walked over the improvised bed Marcy had set up and simply laid out the second bedroll atop the first one. "Bam, double the bedroll, double the comfort!" she said gesturing at the bed. 

Marcy did a bang up job of keeping the panic out of her face and voice, "Oh, that wouldn't be weird, sharing a bed?"

"Why," Anne said with a raised eyebrow, "We've done it plenty of times."

"Really?" Marcy said, feigning ignorance. 

"Uh, yeah?" Anne started counting on her fingers, "there was that time in fourth grade we shared a sleeping bag for a week cause you forgot yours at the bus stop before the big camping trip. Several times we were both terrified after scare dares and ended up falling asleep in each other’s arms. That time we were waiting for Sasha at my house and you fell on top of me as a joke, then we both ended up napping like that for an hour or two...."

Marcy nodded, internally envying and cursing her past self for setting this precedent. "Well when you put it like that, it would be pretty suspicious if I suddenly had a problem with it now!"

"Yeah," Anne agreed, "I mean, kinda weird way to phrase that, but yeah." She paused, frowning, "I mean do you-"

"Nope!" Marcy said, unable to think of an excuse that wouldn't possibly out her and ruin everything.  Marcy turned off the mushroom lights and slipped into one side of the bed. Anne took the other, letting out another yawn. 

"G'night Mar-Mar." Anne said curling up away from Marcy. 

"Night," Marcy managed, lying on her back, stiff as a board, trying to take up as little space as possible. Marcy took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind as she rhythmically tapped her chest with her fingertips. 

Things were quiet for a few minutes, sounds of far off crickets filtering in through the open window. Marcy had almost nodded off when she heard a soft voice. "...hey Marcy?"  

"Hm?" Marcy asked. 

"Thanks for finding me..." Anne said quietly, voice vulnerable.

Marcy hesitated hearing the words. The flicker of joy Marcy felt being a source of needed comfort for Anne was suffocated by the guilt of knowing she was the ultimate cause of that need. She considered what Anne's first days in this world must have been like. Hurt, confused, and scared. 

Anne hadn't had the Plantar's to look after her like Marcy had. And the newt who had taken her in on a whim had apparently abandoned her the same way. 

"Of course..." she finally settled on and a silence fell between them. 

Marcy let out a slow breath, again trying to sleep when she felt Anne shift next to her. "Anne?" Marcy whispered softly but got no response. Anne turned unconsciously, trying to get more comfortable. With the limited space available, Anne inevitably shifted to face Marcy. Marcy breathed in sharply as Anne's head came to rest on Marcy's shoulder as a pillow. Anne's arms wrapped around Marcy, using her like a stuffed animal to cuddle with. 

Marcy felt herself blush and mentally prepared herself for the long night of sleeplessness ahead. 

Then Anne started to snore."huuungh... hmmm huungh." Marcy felt the warm hum of her breath as Anne breathed out, followed by the clicking sounds of snores as she breathed in. 

Marcy quietly breathed out a laugh through her nose. She looked down at Anne with a warm adoring expression. She was being ridiculous. For better or worse, Anne didn't see her as more than a friend. Anne wasn't worried about anything at that moment. She trusted Marcy.

What was important was that Anne was safe. She was safe and alive and here with her. She didn't die from her wound at toad tower, or by a giant parrot in the forest, or from any of the dangerous things Marcy had exposed her to by bringing her to this world. 

They were safe, and together. That was plenty. 

Marcy carefully pulled her arm out from being pinned and wrapped it around Anne in a loose hug. As she continued to snore Marcy felt herself grow drowsy. The hum and warmth of Anne's breathing body slowly relaxing her before she finally fell asleep. 

Notes:

Marcy's poor gay heart: Thank god there are two bed(roll)s. 

Anne, ruthlessly: Not to fear bestie!

Welcome to the Anne Arc y'all I know some of you have been waiting patiently for this for a long time. It's gonna be emotional. I really hope this chapter came out good, I have been staring at it too long now to tell.

I don't want to get into too much detail now about Anne's power set, but I will say they are based on what Val has done/implied to do in canon

Before anything else, while I absolutely want to give @Ku the silver for predicting Anne being with Valeriana as early as Chapter 10, The gold absolutely goes to @ZeiZettGala who absolutely No Scoped this way back in the Comments for Chapter 2. I don't know if your are still reading, but well done. 

---

Comments

As Always, thank you to everyone for reading, dropping Kudos, and writing comments. I'm so glad ya'll made it all the way to this chapter, cause its up there with Toad Tower as one of my faves. 

@Narfo Re: Marcy calling it the calamity box. 
So the reason for this is something I realized when writing chapter 13. The book Marcy found on Earth also calls it the calamity box. So Marcy had no reason to call it anything else in her private encoded notes. Had I realized this I probably would have seeded that in an earlier chapter.

@Narfo Re: Switch Expy Inconsistency
This was just a good catch, I've gone back and fixed them all now I think. 

@Narfo & @Ku Re: How Beginning of the End will effect my writing. 
It super is! I'm so happy it aired before I brought Anne in, its such good material. Its also gonna hugely impact chapter 16 chapter. Emotional damage is incoming, accompanied by some of my favorite analysis I've done for this show. The beginning of the end was actually a puzzle piece I had felt missing before, and now I have it and can wield it for my dark purposes. 

@Oakler & @Ku  Re: Long Term Consequences of the Election
Don't worry, we're on the same page about this. ;)

@VWORP & @Hivemind Re: Horse n' Sword
Horse n' Sword was a reference to the Mount & Blade series. 

As always thanks to those who are adding and maintaining the TV Tropes page. I love checking in each week to see new tropes added ^_^ 

A massive shout out to @Lost_Owl, who just straight up dropped a 1k One Shot into the comments last week detailing a possible future of this AU. That was super cool to wake up to. I encourage people to go back and check it out. 

Also, thank you to @Missakat [ Twitter - Tumblr ] who drew Anne's outfit for this AU and helped me with the design (initial sketch to the right.)

Finally, thank you to @mituni-art on tumblr for a beautiful piece of fanart for chapter 7 (Its been added to that chapter as well, with permission)

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Final Thoughts

haaaaaa. Fuck. I have been so psyched to write that chapter for the last Three Months. I have really enjoyed doing all these more comprehensive story for once, but I came into this hobby as a shipper and god damn I have been dying to get these girls in the same room. I tinkered with that last scene for a while 

I wonder if anyone got my stupid pun hint from last week. Probably not.

 

"Though as a heads up, the timeline compared to canon for these last 7 chapters is gonna get a little wonky. Anarchy one might say."

Anarchy. Anne-Arc-y

Not gonna lie, there is not a chapter left this season I am not super psyched for. 

Next Week: So. It's gonna end well. But be forewarned. These next two chapters are going to be emotional. Neither of these girls are in the same place development wise that they were in Season 2 of canon. This is not going to be a smooth fluffy courtship. 

Chapter 15: Once a Thief...

Summary:

"... if a friend wants you to steal a crazy music box from a thrift store, even if you really don't want to, you do it okay? Cause if you don't... they might not want to be your friend anymore."

Marcy paced just beside the thrift store. She had gotten a response from Sasha, her and Anne were on the way. Marcy fiddled with the cords of her sweatshirt as she occasionally glanced back at the box. This... wasn't logical. The book had clearly been some kind of pseudo-scientific nonsense. Why would a device capable of crossing dimensions be sitting in a thrift store in LA? If it was real then some government organization would have secured it by now, right?

But if it was real. Then it could fix everything. Her, Anne, and Sasha wouldn't have to be separated. She could feel in her heart that it was desperation. 

If that book was popular enough this thing was probably just a cheap replica. Something that was built for a fan and then donated when they lost interest or died. 

But it had to be real. Because if it wasn't... If it wasn't then she was going to be alone...

"Can you believe he tried to ask me out? Me? Over text?" Marcy turned to see Sasha and Anne round the corner of the sidewalk towards her. Anne looked a little down, arm crossed over her chest. "Hey Mar-Mar" Sasha called out, and Anne looked up from the sidewalk to Marcy. She gave a wave and Marcy smiled, waving back. 

"Hey Sash. Hey Anna-Banana! Happy Birthday!" Marcy ran up and gave her a hug. 

"Hey Marcy!" Anne said, and took a little breath, picking her expression up. "Sorry we didn't bring you along today, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing..." Anne apologized. 

Marcy nodded, understanding. It had stung earlier, back when she showed up to their lunch spot alone, but they had bigger problems now, "that's okay, I had some studying to do anyways..."

"Told you." Sasha said with a sigh. "So Mar-Mar, where's this gift?"

"Oh yeah," Anne smiled, "Sasha said you found some cool... frog box?" Anne said, a little skeptical but still excited. 

"Right in there." Marcy pointed out the box atop the dresser. Anne and Sasha crowded around her to get a closer look. 

"You haven't bought it yet?" Anne asked, confused. 

"I don't really have enough money..." Marcy shrugged apologetically, she looked over to Sasha. Sasha had a credit card from her dad and was happy to use it to splurge on random stuff to needle him. Especially if it was for the three of them. Marcy was banking on her to do it again today. 

Sasha looked at Marcy and smiled knowingly and Marcy let out a sigh of relief. "Ah, great idea as always Marcy.“ The relief was short lived as Sasha turned to Anne, “Anne, go boost it." Sasha thumbed back at the music box. 

"What?" Anne looked a little startled, looking around at the empty sidewalk around them nervously. "I can't just steal it." Anne whispered, waving her hands out in front of her in denial. 

"Why not?" Sasha looked through the window. "Look, the cashier is sleeping on the job. They're practically asking you to do it."

Anne looked nervously between the box and the cashier, "I don't know Sash, this isn't like a scrunchie or some candy... that thing looks expensive."

Sasha let out a frustrated groan, circling behind Marcy, "come on, even after all the effort Marbles went through to find it for you, you're not even going to try?" Sasha put an arm around Marcy.

Anne looked back to Marcy, eyes pleading, "You understand, right Mar-Mar? I'm just..." she rubbed at her arm, glancing from the ground and then back to her. "It's not a big deal if I don't, is it?" she smiled

Marcy felt a pit in her stomach as she took in the words. Marcy knew that if she backed Anne up, Sasha would back down. Sasha wouldn't like it, but wouldn't push the issue on Anne’s birthday. Probably. Anne would appreciate it and they would have a good last month together. Then Marcy would move away. They’d try to keep in contact but who knows when they would see eachother again? Slowly but surely, they would move on.  

And then she'd be alone. 

"Come on Anne, it'll take less than a minute," Marcy said, affecting her best impression of Sasha's bravado. "Then we can listen to its silly music before heading back to your place for a sleepover. Right, Sashy?"

"Yeah, sure, I guess." Sasha conceded, "it's getting cold out anyways." she rubbed at her arms.

Marcy could see the shock in Anne's face as she looked between them. She quickly forced a smile clenching unsure hands into thumbs up. "Right. Sure. Easy." Anne turned away and walked into the thrift store. 

Sasha squeezed Marcy's shoulder, "thanks for the assist Marcy, she was totally going to chicken out." Sasha let go of her to watch as Anne approached the music box inside. Marcy stuffed her shaking hands into her sweatshirt pockets. It was fine. 

She could make it up to Anne later. The box would work. Then all of this would be behind them. 

---

Marcy woke up to sunlight shining onto her face through the little basement window. Anne was still draped over her, snoring peacefully and at rest. Marcy was happy but felt a little guilty indulging in the embrace and slowly extricated herself from the bed. Anne mumbled in protest briefly before falling back into a deep sleep. 

Marcy looked down at Anne, grabbing at the disrupted sheets to pull them up over her again. Then she noticed that Anne's shirt had ridden up over the night, and noticed a healing scar to the right of her stomach. 

Marcy frowned, remembering what Grime had told her at the tower. Then she tucked Anne in and turned around to get ready for the day. 

---

Anne woke up, arm reaching for... something? She opened a groggy eye to brief bewilderment at where she was. It wasn't the somewhat familiar boards and struts of Val's wagon, and certainly wasn't the poster rich walls of her bedroom. As she sat up she slowly pieced together her memories of last night, of finding Marcy in the bazaar and of being left behind by Valeriana. This was... the Plantar home? A family of little frogs who had taken Marcy in. This was their basement. 

She had bunked up with Marcy the night before! That’s who was missing. Anne swung her legs off the side of the bed and looked around, but no luck finding Marcy. She did find a little note however. 

'Went out to do some morning gardening! We saved you pancake batter! I know you like yours fresh. :) -Marcy'

Anne smiled, looking over the familiar handwriting. 

Anne let out a long yawn, smiling a bit drowsily. She felt... rested? It'd been a while since she felt like that. After her wound had mended, Anne had been kicked out of the only bed in the carriage. She had managed to sleep in the main walkway, but it wasn't comfortable and she was usually woken up early when Val had to get past her.. 

Not sure if she should walk around in her pajamas, Anne decided to get herself dressed for the day. She got her tunic and borrowed... now gifted black dress and pulled on her cloak. Lastly she pulled on her old socks, then her left shoe and her right shoe... right shoe.

Right shoe?

She had already laced it all up and was staring down at it, bewildered. Then she picked up her backpack before storming up the stairs and into the living room. Sprig, the kid who had been with Marcy was lounging on the couch alone. "Oh, hey, batter is in the icebox." He said pointing towards the kitchen. 

"Thanks, hey Little Man, have you seen Marcy?"

"Yeah. She lives here, Anne." Sprig said with a raised brow. 

"No, I mean." Anne shook her head, "I mean that I've been missing this shoe for a while and-"

"Oh yeah, your sneaker!" Sprig looked down at it fondly, "man, I had almost forgotten about that thing."

Anne paused, no longer looking out the window for Marcy, focusing in on Sprig. "You know where Marcy found this?" she said, pointing down at her shoe. 

"Sure!" Sprig jumped up, "that was me and Marcy's first real adventure together. We found it in the clearing of the mimic bird." Sprig spoke as if it was at the start of a tale around a campfire. 

"Mimic- did it look like a giant monster parrot?"

"A what?"

"Big colorful feathers, shouting out people words?"

"Yeah. A mimic bird." Sprig agreed, like this was common knowledge. 

"What were you guys doing out there?" Anne said, brow knitted together. She wasn't like, an expert on geography, but she was pretty sure the Toadlands were far away from Wartwood. After word had gotten out that the Toads were looking for Anne, her and Val had steered well clear of the tower. 

"The mimic bird had started calling out to Marcy in your voice, and she just sprinted right towards it." Sprig made a gesture of something speeding off, "like a pebble from a slingshot"

"You heard it all the way out here?"

"Oh, no. Like the day after we took her in she wanted to go looking for you and your other friend." Sprig explained. "We were on the edge of the Toad Lands when we heard you... it." Sprig struggled with the phrasing for a moment, "It sounding like you." 

Anne paused, imagining Marcy hiking through the forests looking for her. Sprinting into danger for her. It gave her a warm tingling feeling. 

"And then it tried to eat her." 

Okay, tingling feeling gone, "What?"

"Yeah, but don't worry! I pushed Marcy out of the way right in the nick of time! Then she picked me up and we sprinted into a hollow beneath this giant dead tree." Sprig continued on with the story like it was the coolest thing ever. "Then we officially became friends. Then we shot the bird in the eye with pain peppers and blinded it!" Sprig struck a heroic pose on the coffee table, "We managed to escape while it was blinded, its screams were horrifying!” he finished before seeming to remember the point of the retelling, “Oh, and Marcy found your shoe in the clearing, sometime in the middle there."

Anne took a deep breath, full of retroactive worry. "Okay cool, hey Sprig? Thanks for looking out for Marcy."

"We look out for each other." Sprig said with a smile, "it's what family does." he jumped from the table up onto Anne's shoulders. "Now, I have some questions for you!"

"Oh yeah?" Anne smiled, "What's on your mind Little Man?"

"What was it like traveling with the bazaar? What's in your pink bag? Does Valeriana have a hand at the end of her tail?" He leaned in close, whispering, eyes sparkling, "What was Marcy like back home?"

Anne chuckled, walking with the little frog on her shoulder to the kitchen. Anne was happy to indulge in his questions as she went about fixing up some pancakes. She was pretty shocked to see the squat little fridge in the otherwise rustic kitchen. Unsurprisingly, Marcy had jerry-rigged it within weeks of her arrival. Soon Anne had a small plate of pancakes covered in syrup to enjoy.. 

The peaceful hum of the Plantar house was a welcome change of pace. From the rough roads and travel to the criminal convention of the bazaar. She felt better knowing Marcy had been safe here the past few months. Now they just had to find Sasha and a way back home…

With that in mind Anne opened her bag and pulled out the music box. 

"What's that?" Sprig looked at the box curiously, 

"This," Anne said holding up the box, "is what transported me and Marcy here. Opened it up and bam! Frog world."

"That little thing?" Sprig said surprised, looking at the box closely. "How'd you all fit inside?" he made a grabbing gesture with his hands. 

Anne hesitated for a moment, but let Sprig look at the box. She was pretty sure she could chase him down if it came to it. "We didn't. When we opened it  there was a big flash of light and music and then we were in this world."

Sprig looked at the box with sparkling eyes, hand gently starting to open it. 

"Sprig!" an authoritative voice came from behind them, Hop Pop stood there, pointing a gardening trowel, "no escaping on a whimsical adventure! You have chores to do this afternoon."

Sprig made a raspberry before dejectedly putting the box back into Anne's hands, "wouldn't have worked anyways." Anne told Sprig, flipping the lid up and down to no effect. 

"... so that's what got you and Marcy here, huh?" Hop Pop asked, looking at the box curiously. 

"Yeah, know anything about it?" Anne asked, not particularly hopefully. She had asked plenty of people over her time at the bazaar, only Valeriana had an inkling about its existence. 

Hop Pop hemmed and hawed, looking over the box inside and out for a few moments before clicking it shut, "nope, never seen anything like it."

"Yeah, I figured." Anne said, resigned. She'd blown her one chance to learn about the box after all. It wouldn't be that easy. 

"Really?" Anne turned around to see Marcy, holding a basket full of various plant clippings, looking at Hop Pop. "The Plantar family tome has a whole page dedicated to it.." As Marcy's gaze moved to Anne, she smiled wide, "Morning Anna Banana, how'd you sleep?"

"Morning Marcy!” Anne felt hope bloom in her chest, “You found something out about this thing?" 

"Yeah! Well, a little." Marcy bounced her head back and forth. "The tome is the only place I’ve found it mentioned directly."

Hop Pop looked surprised, tapping his knuckles on the table, "I'll uh, go get the tome, so-"

"No need!" Marcy dramatically placed the basket of plants in the middle of the table, "I took down all the important notes." she said proudly, fishing out her journal and placing it on the table, flipping through pages. "Let's see, formula for alchemic cola... curse of weightlessness..." she hummed through the pages going deeper and deeper in the journal. Sprig hopped up on the table in front of the journal. Anne came up behind Marcy, placing her head over her right shoulder. Marcy paused in her flipping for a moment on a page about some local horrifying looking hedgehog before rushing on. "Here-" Marcy's voice cracked, "sorry, here we go." she smoothed out the wrinkled pages of her journal.

On the pages was a pretty accurate drawing of the box before them, along with an additional picture  of the three gems. 

-Called the Calamity Box [Plantar Tome]
-Gems important? Powerful? Box might just channel them[Plantar Tome]
-Considered Dangerous/Powerful in some Non-Specific Way[Plantar Tome]
-Capable of teleportation/dimension hopping [First Hand Experience]
-Iconography emulates/dates back to first century, if not prehistoric [Newtopian Art and Architecture: Volume 1]
-Strangely, Most mentions of Music Box Technology dates back only to the 8th century[Gilfreg's Great Grimoire of Gearwork]
-Music Box Might come from a pre-Leviathan era. Ancient Lost Technology? [Speculation]

"Is this what you’ve been looking into at the archive?" Hop Pop asked, a little surprised and maybe concerned.

"Yep... while I wasn't able to get a bunch of actionable information about it, I think it'll help if we can get to a bigger library. I've researched it from about every way I can think of here." Marcy said apologetically. 

"Are you kidding!" Anne wrapped her arms around Marcy, hugging her from behind. "This is great Marcy!" Who needed Val and her rickety old carriage, she had the smartest person of two worlds on her side now. 

"Haha, it's no big deal," Marcy, patted Anne's arm, since she couldn't hug back in this position. "Looks like the gems got desaturated though... that's probably why it's not working. Maybe they need to be recharged between uses?" Marcy fished out a pencil to make a note of this in her journal.

Anne looked at the box and did vaguely remember the three gems being colored back on Earth. "Oh, yeah, I definitely noticed that..." Anne lied, poorly. 

"Well, as interesting as all this is… We gotta get going soon. Gotta keep my office hours," Hop Pop decided.

Anne let go of Marcy, "There're office's here?" Anne asked curious, her imagination conjuring a room full of cubicles and frogs in poorly tailored suits. 

"No, Anne, Hop Pop recently became mayor of Wartwood!" Marcy said proudly while Hop Pop puffed his chest out

"That's right, and since I'm living out here, people expect me to be in town when I say I'll be. So we gotta get moving." Hop Pop said, turning and grabbing a small briefcase of some kind. 

"Do you want to come with?" Marcy asked, clearly excited, "I can show you around Wartwood!"

Anne smiled, a day hanging out with Marcy sounded great. "That sounds great Mar-Mar," she took the music box and stuffed it into her bag, zipping it tight. She reached into the front pocket and pulled out a yellow scrunchie and gathered up her hair into a ponytail. 

As a group, they started migrating outside. Marcy looked at her curiously, "you started wearing your hair up?"

"Oh... yeah. I kept getting leaves and twigs stuck in there, and Val kept calling me Shrub Girl." Anne said, annoyed, "Ponytail kept it clean easier." Anne said. She looked up at Marcy's hair and deftly plucking a leaf from it. Marcy flinched a little at the action, but that made sense. Anne had a few more hair trigger reactions herself after two months in this world. 

Hehe, 'hair trigger'.

Marcy nodded looking up at Anne's hair, "I think it looks really pretty." Marcy paused before a little redness came to her cheeks. "Not to say you didn't look pretty before. It's just, I always thought you looked good when you pulled it back for tennis." Marcy rambled on. 

Anne rolled her eyes. Classic Marcy, foot solidly in her mouth half the time. She put a hand on her friend’s shoulder to cut her off, "I know what you meant Marcy, thanks for the compliment." Anne reached back and batted at her ponytail with a proud grin. 

The ride to town was pleasant enough. Marcy spent the time telling Anne the first chronicle of what was apparently an epic about Bessie the snail. It was a relief to get to the town, Anne wasn't sure how long she could have kept her eyes open otherwise.

Wartwood was a nice little town, all things considered. Very medieval village. It reminded Anne of that town the little guy from Marcy's favorite movie started out in. The homes were all weirdly built on like, stilts or something. Plus, a lot of the locals were giving her the stink eye, but that was nothing new. 

It was no Lilypaddington, that was for sure. Thanks to the local bardic guild, that place had live music, art, and dance battles pretty much all the time. It was great, even if the students were absolutely insufferable as customers at the bazaar. 

They drove towards a building that had 'Town Hollow' printed over the doorway. A newer looking sign stuck out from it, it had a green backdrop and a copper snail. The style looked a little off from the rest of town.

Marcy caught sight of Anne staring, "You like it? Designed it myself." Marcy said proudly as they headed towards the door. 

Anne raised a brow, "they let you redesign the town symbol?"

Hop Pop opened the door in front of them. "Nope, but they did let me design a symbol for the new militia!" As they walked in, Anne saw half a dozen frogs in the atrium wielding shiny training spears and swords all being drilled by an older frog with an elongated brow and a bushy mustache. They all had green cloaks trimmed with a copper brown color. "Most of the valley is made up of farmers so I thought a farming snail would be a good choice for a coat of arms."

"Well, this is where I get off." Hop Pop said, moving towards a staircase on one side of the room. "You girls have fun. Unless something comes up, I should be done with everything here a couple hours before sundown."

"See ya Hop Pop." Marcy said and Anne gave a wave. "Ready to go see the market? It's basically the heart of town."

Anne nodded and started following Marcy through the streets towards a bustling town market. Anne had never been to town on a market day. Compared to the hustle and bustle of the bazaar, it was all kind of quaint really. She didn't see anyone who wasn't a butcher even have a knife on their person. Which was why it was weird that she was treated much more rudely by the vendors here than she had ever been by Cutthroat Sammy or Terry the Gut Ripper. Still, most people seemed happy to greet and talk to Marcy, so they probably weren't all bad. She'd never seen Marcy talk to so many people on her own before.

Anne was mostly just along for the ride, Marcy was talking about this or that as she ran down a shopping list. This pattern was seamless right up until they were facing a stall that was pretty heavily bee themed. Diagonal black and yellow stripes painted the stand with a sign that said, 'Comb's Honeycombs'. A young frog with a beekeeper's outfit on and jars of various honey's surrounding them manned the stand. The honey was all sorts of colors from the standard yellow golden color to ones with a rich orange or even red hue. Sitting alone on the top shelf were two jars that looked like they were a silvery gray with crystals inside. 

This was the first stand that Marcy even hesitated at. "Okay... you can do this." Marcy said to herself before approaching the stand, "Hi Comb! How are you doing today?"

The frog, who had up until a moment ago been smiling pleasantly at every passerby, scowled at Marcy like she was a raccoon that had gotten into his pantry. Without saying a word, he slowly pulled out a sign from under his stand that said 'Out for Lunch'. Then he just stared at Marcy through his beekeeping outfit, not saying a word. 

"Ah... haha," Marcy deflated before backing away, "I'll just... come back later then." Marcy turned back, looking defeated. 

Anne glared at the beekeeper who, as soon as Marcy had walked away a few paces, removed the sign from the top of the stand and went back to pleasantly smiling at possible customers. "What's that guy's problem?" Anne asked as Marcy returned. 

"Oh... I made a pretty bad first impression when I first came to Wartwood," Marcy said with a helpless shrug. "Most have moved past it, but some have been... slower to reconsider." 

"Well, I mean, he can't be the only place to get honey in town, right?" Anne looked over to the Grub and Go , knowing she had seen some honey while they were browsing.earlier.

"True." Marcy nodded, "but what I really need is the ice-bee honey." Marcy looked back and pointed to the jar that looked like it was full of crystals. "That one at the top there. It is incredibly rare. Especially in the valley, you see-" Anne nodded along as Marcy explained whatever ice bees were, "-which is why I was really hoping to experiment with it." 

"Well that sucks." Anne commiserated, giving a stink eye to the vendor. When Comb caught her eye he gave the stink eye right back. 

"Yeah... but what are you gonna do?" Marcy said, clearly resigned. 

Anne looked at her friend, feeling a twisting pain of sympathy for Marcy, then she grinned as she came up with a plan, "hey Mar-Mar, why are so many buildings here on stilts?" Anne smiled seeing Marcy's face light up. 

"Oh! Actually that's one of the projects I suggested! You see I was reading how Wartwood was built on a swamp, so the builders had to-" Marcy walked towards a nearby building that had been built on stilt platforms. 

Anne smiled and nodded as she focused back on the beekeeper's stand. He was chatting with one of the locals, and was clearly distracted. While Marcy went on about water displacement, Anne adopted the hand gesture Val had taught her and made a counter clockwise motion. One of the jars on the top shelf shimmered as an illusion of transparency wrapped around it, seeming to disappear from sight. Then she activated her magic again with a clockwise circle. A very subtle blue aura, difficult to see on the bright sunny day, wrapped around the invisible jar and floated off into the air. Anne felt a bead of sweat form on her forehead as she maintained both spells at once, but she had plenty of practice at this. Eventually it found its way into her hand on the other side of the market square. She grinned and unzipped her bag just enough to slip it inside before letting both spells drop. 

"-Isn't that cool? Now the town can build more infrastructure!" Marcy said finishing her lecture. 

Anne smiled, "yeah!" she answered, completely lost to how her initial question had led to this conclusion. 

---

Marcy guided Bessie into the stables after dropping off Anne and Hop Pop at the front door. Everything had gone as well as she had hoped. She wasn't able to get everything she wanted in town, but she did manage to buy most of it. She didn't really think that Comb would come around on selling the ice honey to her anyways. 

Still, she got to spend the whole day with Anne, which was great! 

Marcy went back into the house where Sprig was hurriedly doing the chores he had procrastinated all afternoon while they were in town. Hop Pop stood watching him to make sure that the chores would get done this time. Marcy gave him a brief greeting before slipping down into the basement where Anne was waiting. 

"Hey Marcy," Anne said, clicking off her phone and sitting up, "I got a present for you!"

"Oh?" Marcy cocked her head, interested. Maybe something from Earth?

Anne leaned down and moved her backpack in front of her. She unzipped it and pulled out a jar, holding it out to Marcy. 

Marcy's eyes sparkled as her fingers curled around the cool glass jar. A layer of condensation misted the front since the contents remained at a cooler temperature compared to the outside. "This is a jar of ice honey!" she said excitedly. "How did you get this?" Marcy asked, even besides Comb's obstinate personality, ice honey was just expensive. 

Anne smiled proudly, clearly pleased with herself, "Oh, it wasn't a big deal, got the ol' magic fingers discount!" she said, waggling her fingers. 

Marcy stared at her, confused, "you... gave him a massage?" she asked, weirded out. 

"Wha- no!" Anne said, scandalized, "no, I used magic."

"Magic!?" Marcy asked, confused but excited. 

"Did I not- wow, lots going on." Anne shook her head before smiling excitedly at Marcy, "Yeah! Val was teaching me how to do magic for the last few months!" Anne grinned 

"I've been learning too!" Marcy felt a buzz of excitement through her whole person. They could study magic together! This was the best possible news, "What have you been focusing on? Curses, rituals- I've really dug into alchemy personally." Marcy grinned. 

Anne started back blankly, before knitting her eyebrows together, "No, Marcy, I've been studying magic. " Anne clarified, to little effect. 

"I... yeah I heard you Anne, what kind of magic?" Marcy gestured for her to elaborate. 

"The... magic kind?" Anne said, shrugging. 

Marcy frowned a bit, "Okay, when you say 'magic', what are you talking about?" 

Marcy watched as Anne looked around briefly before spotting her water bottle. She held up her hand in a strange gesture. Two fingers up, two down, and thumb pointed in. Anne took a small breath and then made a clockwise motion. Marcy stared in wonder as her water bottle glowed with blue light and lifted it off the table and then zip towards Anne's hand. Anne shook it in question wondering if that was sufficient. 

Marcy looked at her slack jawed shaking with excitement, "She taught you Spellcasting!? "

Anne quickly cast the spell again as Marcy dropped the ice honey in excitement. "I know right?" She grinned, happy they were both on the same page.

"Oh my gosh! Anne, this is so cool! I have so many questions-" Marcy paused, taking the honey back with a slightly worried expression. "wait. Anne, did you steal this from Comb?" 

"Yep!" Anne said grinning, "no need to thank me." 

"Why?" Marcy asked, more harshly than intended.

Anne frowned, clearly expecting a little thanks, "I... you said you needed it for your experiment didn't you?" 

"Yeah, but not this badly," Marcy rubbed at her forehead. "This is bad... we, we'll return it tomorrow, Comb usually stays a few days before leaving, he lives pretty far outside Wartwood." you would have to keep bees the size they get in Amphibia.

"What? Why?" Anne said, getting a little annoyed. "He was a jerk!" 

"Anne, this is a small close-knit community, they form mobs so often and efficiently I used it as an example in the militia's operating guide!" Marcy said in a hushed whisper. 

"So we don't tell anyone. No one saw!" Anne shot back defiantly. "Why are you being so weird about this?"

"Cause I don't-"

"Ahem..." Anne and Marcy both looked up to see the Plantars standing in the doorway. Hop Pop stood in front with a stern expression. 

Sprig was standing behind him, holding Polly and looking apologetic, "is this a bad time to remind you the floorboards above the basement aren't exactly soundproof?"

"Anne." Hop Pop strode down the stairs, Anne backed away a bit on instinct and Hop Pop came to stand in front of Marcy, "is it true? Did you steal from the marketplace?"

Anne looked nervous, but stood her ground, "Yes, but only from that jerk Comb."

"So you’re the arbiter of who deserves to keep their stuff?" Hop Pop asked, hands on hips.

"When they're jerks to my friend for no good reason? Yes." Anne said 

 "So if I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and act a little grouchy, should I expect to see my silverware go missin'?"

Anne looked shocked by the accusation and shook her head, "No. No, of course not. You opened your home to Marcy, I wouldn't..." she gritted her teeth, "but he didn't even give her a chance, not in months!" Anne said, frustrated, "why should Marcy be treated badly just cause she's different?" 

Hop Pop's expression grew a little softer at that but he shook his head. "She shouldn't," Hop Pop agreed, "but there are lines you don't cross." he said, making a cutting gesture with his hands. "I promise, if he tried stealing from either of you, I would’ve had him run out of town on a rail."

"But, but-!" Anne said, eyes darting around, fist clenched, "When a friend needs something… if there had been another way..." she sputtered before looking up at Marcy, looking for support, "Marcy- you know what I mean, right?"

Hop Pop half turned to look up at Marcy questioningly. She could feel the pressure of the Plantar's expectations settle on her, their perception of her shaking free. "I- I never asked you to steal that for me Anne." She spoke out of instinct, looking away.

Marcy's heart broke seeing the look of  betrayal on Anne's face. Anne reached out with a shaky hand, "Marcy?"

Hop Pop turned his glare back on Anne, "Anne, I think it would be best if you left.” “We'll return what you took, but as mayor I can't abide a criminal who decides what laws they feel like following on any given day." he said shaking his head, "besides, you're clearly a bad influence on Marcy."

Anne's face grew angry and incredulous at the suggestion, "you think I'm the bad influence?" she said, her lip quivering, her voice upset and frustrated. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sprig asked, coming to stand next to Marcy. 

Marcy looked at Anne pleadingly; she knew she had no right to do so, but she had just made a home here, she didn't want to lose it...

Anne's face went from angry and offended to... to one Marcy recognized all too well. It was the look whenever Sasha talked down to Anne and made her doubt herself. It was the look she had whenever she got pressured to take the fall for whatever prank or misdemeanor for them. It was the look she used to get whenever Marcy wouldn't take her side when she fought with Sasha, until the day she just stopped trying to stand up for herself. 

"Nothing... Let me just gather my things..." Anne turned her back to them and started gathering what few things she had unpacked. 

Marcy felt a sense of finality in the air. Marcy knew, somehow beyond all doubt, that this was her last chance to do something . For once. That fear overshadowed the one of disappointing the Plantars almost entirely. "She meant cause I was the one who told her to steal the music box."

Marcy could hear Polly and Sprig gasp in shock. Hop Pop turned around, his eyes surprised and filled with concern and yes, disappointment. "That thingamajig that brought you both here? You stole it?" he asked and Marcy nodded. 

Anne had briefly paused at the confession but then continued packing. 

Marcy walked around a stunned Hop Pop. She stood behind Anne, her brave, funny, kind childhood friend and spoke softly. "Anne, why did you steal it?" Marcy led. She had to show the Plantars that this wasn't who Anne was. 

Anne sniffed, keeping her face turned away and voice even, "Cause I thought you wanted it." she said curtly. 

Marcy flinched at her tone, but pressed on. "Have you ever stolen anything for yourself? Anything besides candy or hair ties?"

"No..." Anne answered after a moment of thinking. "It's not like I enjoy it." 

Sprig spoke up, confused, "Wait, if you don't like doing it and Marcy didn't ask you to, then why did you steal the honey?"

"Cause when a friend wants something, you help them get it. No questions asked." Anne answered, but didn't sound so sure anymore. 

Hop Pop's voice had shifted from firm authority to curiosity. "So if Marcy refused to steal something for you, she'd be a bad friend?"

"Wha-" Anne turned at that, "No- No of course not." Anne's brow furrowed at the clear contradiction. Hands rung at her bundled up pajamas.

"Then why did you feel you needed to do it?" Polly demanded, more frustrated by the circles the conversation was going in than anything else. 

Marcy looked between Anne and the Plantars, fretting, "Guys-" 

"Cause if I don't then what good am I!?" Anne shouted, hurling the bundle at the ground in frustration. Tears beaded at the corner of her eyes, 

Marcy felt the exclamation like a physical blow, "Anne..." she said the name gently, like if she was too rough with it she might break. "...you really feel that way?" Marcy's stomach sank at the look of self pity that appeared on her best friend's face at the question. 

Anne crossed her arms over her chest defensively, "I mean... yeah?" she hiccupped out a laugh, "I can't help with school stuff or plan things out like you do... I can't keep bullies off our backs like Sasha..." she looked up at Marcy, "if I'm not willing to do at least this much in return then... why would you even want to be friends with me?"

"Anne..."

"You know... at first, I thought it was just Sasha who wanted to... to shoplift and vandalize and stuff. That we were just along for the ride," Anne looked at Marcy with a smile that felt unnatural... wrong. "That it was a phase and we'd soon go back to... to playing games and watching movies like we used to... but then you asked me to take the music box and..." her lip quivered, "and I thought, 'Oh... this is just what we do now...'" Anne's athletic frame, that always seemed so strong to Marcy, shook as she looked down to the ground. "This is what I was for now..." 

"Anne..." Marcy took a step towards her, but Anne took a step back. 

"But hey," Anne spoke with clearly forced levity, "looks like I can’t even do this right!" she smiled at Marcy in a way that Marcy never wanted to see. 

"Anne... I'm sorry." Marcy said the words and Anne's face fully dropped its broken mask. Marcy held out her hands and Anne cautiously let go of herself, allowing Marcy to hold her hands. "I should never have asked you to take the music box..."

Anne shook her head "I.. it's okay, you didn't know-" she tried to excuse.

"I knew you were uncomfortable." Marcy interjected. "I knew you didn't want to do it, but I pressured you anyways." Marcy dropped her gaze, unable to maintain eye contact any longer.  "I'm not your friend because of what you're willing to do for me... you're my friend because you’re brave, and funny, and kind..." Marcy rubbed at Anne's hand with her thumb, "because you always try to make me smile and look out for me... you shouldn't have to push yourself to do things that make you uncomfortable for my sake."

Marcy felt Anne's hands shake in her grasp, "b-but Sasha..." she croaked out.

"Not for her either," Marcy said firmly, "and I... I shouldn't have stood by and let her push you around either," she admitted. She looked up. Anne was full on crying now, "When we reunite with Sasha... we'll talk it out. I'll take your side, like I always should have..." her eyes drifted to Anne's abdomen where she knew a scar lay hidden. Guilty tears prickled at the corners of Marcy’s eyes as she gave a sad smile to Anne, "I've been a bad friend to you, Anne."

Anne let go of Marcy's hands so that she could pull her in for a bone crushing hug. Her body was hunched over slightly to cry into Marcy's shoulders, "y-you're not a bad friend." Anne insisted between choking sobs, "you're my best friend in the world Marcy."

Marcy returned the hug, heart gladdened by the words, "Okay," Marcy allowed, "but I could be a better one." she said, patting Anne on the back. 

"Mmm," Anne conceded in a hum.

Marcy looked back to the Plantars. Sprig and Polly were both looking on sympathetically. Hop Pop too had softened, but was far more conflicted about it. 

Marcy continued to comfort Anne for a minute or two until she finally started to catch her breath. She pulled back, catching sight of the Plantars and let out a breathy laugh, "aw geez. Forgot you all were here..." she dug the heel of her palm into her eye to wipe away tears, "Sorry you had to see all that." She pulled away from Marcy, but took her hand into her own for comfort. "Listen, I'll leave. But before I go, please let me return that honey sneakily." Anne requested, face now determined.

Hop Pop raised a curious brow, "why?" 

"If people find out a human did it, they might not trust Marcy anymore." Anne explained, "I don't want my mistakes to cause problems for her." she insisted, sniffling. "After that… I'll go."

"Anne…" Marcy said quietly, considering seriously leaving with her, if it came to that.

Hop Pop looked between the two of them, "and you have a plan for what you'll do? Where you'll go?"

"I mean... no." Anne admitted looking down, "but... I'll figure it out." she claimed, without much confidence behind the words.

"and you won't just start stealing again?" Hop Pop questioned critically. 

"I don't want to." Anne said slowly, "but... I'm not going to starve on principle, so if it comes down to it..." she admitted

Hop Pop sighed, shaking his head, "Well, as mayor, I'm afraid I can't agree to such a proposal," he said and Marcy could see Anne bristle with frustration. "No, no, the responsible thing to do would be..." he paused before smiling, "to let you stay here, in Wartwood, where we can keep an eye on you."

Anne's eyes shot open in surprise, "... Really?" she asked, incredulously. 

Hop Pop nodded, "mmhm." Then his expression got stern again, "but, on three conditions." he warned. Anne hesitated for a moment, but Marcy squeezed her hand encouragingly and Anne nodded. Hop Pop started holding up fingers. "One, you own up to stealing, publicly. You make a mistake, you own up to it." Anne grimaced, but nodded in agreement. "two, while you won't be thrown in jail or the stocks, you'll do two weeks of community service. We're a community here in Wartwood. That's something you need to learn, and give others time to accept you as part of." he explained seriously. Anne nodded, much more understanding this time. "Third, if you're going to stay here and be part of this family, then you will need to contribute around the house."

Anne raised a brow at that condition, "family?" 

"I think we're a bit past just treating you like any other guest, hm?" Hop Pop said, tilting his head to the side. "and Marcy clearly thinks of you as family..." 

Anne looked back to Marcy, who felt embarrassed, but smiled warmly in agreement.

“An’ Marcy’s family to us.” Hop Pop said with a nod, “So, as long as you're willing to try and be better, I’m willing to give you another chance.” He turned to his two grandchildren, “how about you kids?” Sprig nodded enthusiastically. 

Polly shrugged, “I’d be fine if you continued doing crimes.” Hop Pop scowled, and a look of understanding came onto Anne about why Hop Pop might have been reluctant to be lenient with her. 

Hop Pop shook his head, turning back to Anne, "So. We all help out here, one way or another. Farming, hunting, cleaning, fixing stuff. What can you do?" he asked, hands open. 

Anne rubbed at one arm, thinking it over, "Well, I always helped my parents out at the restaurant..." Anne offered, "and I was in charge of cooking while traveling with Val."

Hop Pop nodded sagely, "That'd be a great help. Think you can handle breakfast and dinner then?" behind him Sprig and Polly looked stoked at the possibility. 

Anne nodded, "I mean, someone will probably have to shake me awake for the first week or so, but yeah, I think I can handle it." 

"Well, I was gonna go fix us up some dinner before all this went down, how's about I show you around the kitchen?"

"That... that would be great." Anne nodded with a smile. 

"Alright kids," Hop Pop turned around towards the stairs, "one last night with your Hop Pop cooking."

"Whoo hoo!" Sprig and Polly cheered, only to get an offended glare, "I mean... aw?" Sprig added belatedly. 

As the three of them moved away, Anne turned back to Marcy with a smile, pulling her in for another hug. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

"Well, it was about time." Marcy said with a shrug. 

Anne let go looking up to where the Plantars had gone and turned back to Marcy, “They’re really important to you aren’t they?” Marcy looked nervous, and maybe a little embarrassed, rubbing at her thumb. She nodded after a moment. Anne smiled without judgment, putting her arm around Marcy’s shoulder and leading them up after the Plantars.

As they got to the living room there was a heavy knock on the front door. 

"Who could that be, so late at night?" Hop Pop turned around and headed towards the door, unlocking the deadbolt that Marcy had installed after her first week. The door swung open, revealing half the town on the Plantar's doorstep, pitchforks and torches in hand. Mrs Croaker and Comb were at the head of the pack. 

"Mayor." Mrs. Croaker said seriously, "You have a thief living under your roof."

Anne, wide-eyed, whispered to Marcy, "wow, you weren't kidding."

Hop Pop stepped forward, holding up his hands, "I know, we've worked it all out." he said in a placating tone. "Anne?" He looked back at her. 

Marcy held out the jar of honey to Anne who took it with a nod. 

"Listen... I'm sorry everyone." She walked forward and reluctantly held out the jar of honey to Comb, who snatched it out of her hands with a scowl. "I was angry with how Comb was treating Marcy, and I let that blind my actions..." she admitted. "I understand if you can't trust me going forward, but I promise it won't happen again. Please don't let my actions color your opinion of Marcy... she wasn't a part of this." Anne gestured back to her friend. 

"Yeah, yeah, that's all fine and dandy for Comb." Mrs. Croaker said cynically, "Now, where did you hide, Spoticus?" she scowled at Anne, pointing her cane in Anne's face. 

"... Who? " Anne said, confused and off guard. 

"My cowapillar!" Mrs. Croaker clarified aggressively. 

"And my hat!" a bald frog in the crowd called. 

"And my favorite mug!" Albus Duckweed demanded. 

Marcy and the Plantars all looked at Anne with questioning expressions as more demands for the return of stuff were made. Anne held up her hands, "I just took the honey, honest."

"Uh, hi everyone..." Marcy stepped out next to Anne, "just curious, raise your hands if any of this stuff went missing before today. " she asked, raising her hand as an example. After some mumbling, most of the people who had accused Anne raised their hands, Mrs. Croaker not included. 

He sighed, "alright, Anne didn't come within spitting distance of Wartwood until last night." Hop Pop said, "On my honor as a Plantar, I don't think she took anything prior to today. Sadie, Spotticus just wandered into our fields this afternoon, honest. I was gonna bring him around in the morning."

There was some grumbling in the crowd  before a general consensus was reached. Mrs. Croaker spoke up on behalf of the crowd. "Well, alright, we’ll trust you on that Hopediah... but she did steal from Comb... What's your answer for that?"  

"Anne will be helping out around town as punishment. If you need help with something, submit a request at Town Hollow." Hop Pop said. 

"What!?" Wally stepped forward from the crowd, "So we're supposed to just trust this monster?" he demanded. 

"Well, if we get no requests, then I suppose she's going to have a easy couple of weeks." Hop Pop said with a shrug. “I’ll probably just set her on some of Marcy’s projects.”

"Well... I hope you're ready to work." Mrs. Croaker warned, "I'll be putting in a request, and working you to the bone..."

"Yes ma'am," Anne said, giving a salute. 

"Hmph..." Mrs. Croaker turned to the mob, "anyone else we need to go put the fear of frog into?" There was a muttering discussion, but no clear candidate was brought up. "Well alright then. Anyone of a mind can come back to my house for tea and cookies before you go on home. Remember to put out your torches."

Soon the crowd began to disperse, the last of which was Wally and Comb, the latter of whom stared down Marcy and Anne both making a 'I'm watching you,' gesture before leaving with everyone else. 

"I get Comb, but what’s that blue frog’s problem?" Anne asked, pointing at the retreating Wally. 

"Long story." Marcy said, rubbing at the back of her head. Anne frowned looking at the retreating crowd. Marcy tilted her head, "Whatcha thinkin about?"

"I still don't get how they figured out I did it. I was so careful." Hop Pop scowled at her for the comment and she raised her hands to defend herself, "Sorry, I helped a lot of swindled folks at the bazaar get their stuff back, so I thought I had gotten kind of good at it."

Hop Pop rolled his eyes, "Well, what probably happened was Comb realized something was stolen and everyone just assumed you’d done it because you're new in town." Hop Pop guessed. 

"Very tribal out here." Marcy confirmed. As the last of the mob had gone around the bend and they all headed back inside. 

Anne had a cute frown on her face as they made their way to the kitchen. "ugh, not looking forward to all this community service." she whined. 

"I'll come and keep you company," Marcy offered.

"Thanks dude," Anne said appreciatively.

"Of course you'll keep her company!" Hop Pop said over his shoulder, "You'll be joining her."

"What!?" Sprig, Marcy, and Anne said in response; the first in surprise, the second in confusion, and the third in alarm. 

"That's not fair!" Anne said in Marcy's defense, "it was all my idea, Marcy didn't have anything to do with it!" 

Hop Pop stopped, turning to face them. "No, but unless I somehow misunderstood, she was the mastermind behind stealing that box." He raised a brow, "or am I to suppose that you two were planning turning yourselves in when you get back?" 

Marcy and Anne grimaced and looked to the side. 

"Mmmhmm." Hop Pop sounded, "that's what I thought. Now then, time to show you some good old fashioned Plantar cooking." he said, turning back towards the kitchen. Sprig and Polly blanched before following their grandfather. 

Anne leaned over to Marcy, whispering, "what exactly am I in for here?"

Marcy pursed her lips, trying to think of a nice way to put it before ultimately settling on, "It's... probably a good thing that you're taking over the kitchen." she said with an appreciative smile. With that the two followed the rest of the Plantars into the kitchen. 

Notes:

Hey! Finished this one early. Hope this helps tide folks over for the Series finale tonight :) See you all on the other side Edit: Im on the other side. Holy shit I'm emotional. What an ending.

The central scene from this chapter was another one of the tentpole scenes that birthed this AU, mostly cause I was always annoyed we never got anything like it in Canon. Cause you can look back at episode 1, Marcy looks absolutely on board with pressuring Anne to get the music box and I was always kind of bummed that was swept under the rug after Marcy was introduced.  Oh well, guess that's what 100k long fics setting up the circumstances just right to address are for. Or I guess just like a 2k fic in canon season 2, but honestly, who would do that.

In other news. 

---

What's Up With Anne Ignoring Marcy?

So I think this will probably be a kind of sticking point for some of ya'll cause this doesn't feel like an accurate of their loving/supportive relationship from season 2. And I agree. But I don't think that S2 version of their relationship was reflective of their pre-Amphibia dynamic. I think it was massively improved following the development Anne went through in S1 and crucially, her falling out with Sasha. I think these two things+Marcy at the Gates made Canon!Anne seriously reevaluate her relationship with Marcy and stop taking her for granted. All things that have not happened in this AU.

We'll get back there, cause I did love their season 2 dynamic, but they both have a bit more growing to do.

On a side analysis note, man, Anne becoming a more attentive and supportive friend after coming to Amphibia must have been a dream come true for Canon!Marcy huh? Must have really solidified her belief that she had done the right thing in bringing them there. 

---

Comments/Feedback

I'm really glad people enjoyed last weeks trip to the Bizarre Bazaar and I can't wait to show you where those effects will ripple. Not a whole lot of direct questions last week, but plenty of excitement, and I loved to see it. Thank you to everyone who leaves comments or kudos, I know the series just ended, but I hope you enjoy the ride that is to come. :)

@Meeposfire Re: Anne's relation to Marcy's Interest+Marcy at the Gates analysis
So I think there's going to be a scene in Chapter 18 you're really going to vibe with based on this comment. However I do feel the need to point out that in Marcy at the Gates, Anne doesn't remember Creatures and Caverns. Or at least she answers that she doesn't. She awkwardly looks to the side when Marcy then brings up the detailed lore dump. Now that could be 1 of 2 things, either A. Anne actually doesn't remember, which would be wild since C&C do show up in several flashbacks. Or B. Anne was lying and hoping by answering no that Marcy would not extrapolate. Either way it would put a fine point in the whole 'doesn't care about Marcy's interests' thing. Granted, as the audience I think we're meant to sympathize with Anne here and see it as 'not caring about this interest of hers' rather than 'never caring about any of Marcy's interests'

@LuckyOwl Re: Will the Finale Change My Writing. 
So it doesn't effect anything for a while. Very little in the finale (Moon aside) really shook my long term plans. Marcy's parents probably being Fine is the only thing that straight up contradicts my plans. But I also never realistically thought that canon would really give her bad parents either. I made my peace with that likely bit of canon divergence a while ago. 

---

Final Thoughts

So this is kind of other news, but some might have noticed that this fic is now part of a series. Even though it was the only one currently in it. So, eventually the Season 2 and Season 3 equivalents to this fic will be on there, but also something I am gonna try to start this week call The Lost Grimoire. While writing I sometimes stumble across fun scenes that for pacing reasons I just don't have a place for and wouldn't be able to build a whole 'episode' around. They won't be weekly necessarily like this one, but if you want a little bitesized chapter every so often, feel free to check it out. :)

As for what's next of the main story, well, I think its Anne's turn. It's only fair. :)

See you all next week. 

12/15/2022: PapyJr13 created a great comic of the big emotional scene at the heart of this chapter.

Chapter 16: Glowstone Caverns

Summary:

Marcy introduces Anne to the World Hoppers and they go on a search for the illusive Thunder Bloom flower.

- Marcy's Journal -

Day 71 in Amphibia,

Anne has been learning magic! Which is so cool, it's a totally different discipline than the Dark Arts too! Unfortunately she used those powers to steal something from the market for me. Long story short, now we're both on the hook for some community service. But we have tomorrow off before we start proper and Anne promised to show me all the spells she learned! I think I'll show her some of the cool alchemy stuff in return. 

---

Marcy was already awake when her alarm started buzzing, "Hey Anne, it's time to get up." she said, gently poking at her friend's shoulder

"Wha- bluh." Anne groaned, as she sat up, uncoiling herself from around Marcy "Morning Marcy...". Marcy quickly got changed while Anne was still slipping out of bed. "Where's the fire Marcy, I thought community service started tomorrow?" Anne asked drowsily, stretching out with a yawn. 

Marcy picked up her shoulder bag, "yep! Which means we only have today to study your magic before we both get really busy! Oh, do you mind if I invite my friend Maddie over? I bet she would know what all your magic is about." 

"Yeah, sure, the more the..." her mouth opened wide to yawn, "-merrier." 

Marcy went to her cabinet full of potions pulling out a dull orange one, "you want to see something cool Anne?" Marcy snatched a single post-it note of paper from her desk and scribbled an invitation to Maddie, "This is a pretty complex potion I only recently got all the ingredients for! It's a basic construct potion!"

"Oh yeah?" 

"Yeah!" Marcy excitedly pushed open the basement window and started to fold the paper until it was shaped like an origami bird, "you can animate something pretty big with the whole bottle, but if you use less you can make little golems like this one!" 

"That's pretty cool Mar-Mar."

Marcy dropped a dose of the potion on the head of the bird, and it started to glow a faint orange. "No way to make them permanent, yet, but I have hopes of figuring out something eventually." the little origami bird fluttered to life, looking up at Marcy expectantly, Marcy scooped them up, "isn't that-" Marcy turned to see Anne looking at something on her phone, rubbing at one eye. Not… really paying attention.

Marcy paused for a few moments before shrugging. Anne was just waking up. She stared at the bird in its folded head and while thinking of her fellow witch said, "find and deliver yourself to Maddie." She held the bird up to the window, it took a few steps out before fluttering up into the sky. 

Anne started to get dressed and Marcy sat at her desk to work on her journal. She probably couldn't flee out of the room every time Anne had to change, that would get suspicious quick. Instead she would just do her journaling and mind her business. "So can you tell me about your spells again?" Marcy said, flipping open to a page with a doodle of Anne in her new duds, titled 'Spellcasting'

"Well lets see, Val only really got around to teaching me three. Moving stuff-"

' Mage hand/telekinesis ' Marcy jotted down. 

"Making illusions."

' Illusions ' Marcy titled another section, "that's how you hid the honey jar, right?"

"Yeah, transparency illusion." Anne answered 

"Cool, what's the third?" hearing an end to the shuffling behind her Marcy turned around, only to find Anne gone. "Anne?" Marcy stood up, looking around. "Anna Banana?"

"Boo!" like paper being torn away, the illusion on Anne fell away revealing herself to be inches away from Marcy . 

"Blah!" Marcy almost jumped back into her desk, but Anne was prepared. She grabbed and steadied Marcy before she could crash.  

Anne grinned mischievously, "it can muffle sound, too." 

Marcy nodded, laughing a bit, "g-good to know," Anne let go of her and Marcy recovered her journal from where she had flung it. 

There was a knock on the trap door, "hey, everything okay down there?" Sprig called down. 

"Yeah, just playing a little prank on Marcy," Anne called back. 

"Oh, fun!" there was a pause and some muffling as Sprig cracked open the door, "So, uh, are you still doing breakfast or-"

"Be right up!" Anne called back, "you ready to go Mar-Mar?" she asked, pulling her hair up. Marcy nodded and they both headed upstairs, 

"Morning Hop Pop, Polly." Marcy greeted them as they came into the kitchen. Hop Pop for once was lounging at the table with a book and a cup of coffee. Or at least a boiled mug of whatever weird bug that seemed to imitate coffee beans. While Marcy still hadn't discovered the reason for their existence, she had figured out they were related to chocopedles.

"Everyone good with some roast beetle skewers?" At a round of encouragement Anne started to prepare, going through the cupboards for any spices she could use to bring up the flavor. The final product was a rousing success based on how quickly the Plantars scarfed down each skewer that came off the stove. Marcy took out her journal to make some notes about the invisibility spell Anne had performed. 

"So, what are you kids doing with your last day of freedom?" Hop Pop asked curiously while reading his book.

"We're going to be studying Anne's magic!" Marcy answered happily. 

Hop Pop looked up from his book at Anne, "You have magic too?"

"Yeah!" Sprig answered before Anne had the chance to. "She's a witch just like Marcy and used her magic to save her at the bazaar!" 

"Well, actually, she's more like a sorcerer or wizard, since she does spellcasting."

Hop Pop nodded slowly, taking the news that another magic user was living in his basement in stride, "well, alright then." Anne offered him another skewer from the new batch, "You all have fun! I have to run Spoticus back to Sadie before I head off into town. Y'all stay safe now." he said, waving the skewer as he excused himself. "Thanks for the grub Anne,"

A round of farewells ringed the kitchen as he left, before Marcy looked back at Anne expectantly. "So you said you had a third spell?"

Anne looked a little anxious, "that one's kind of weird..." she rubbed at the back of her head. She waited for any kind of objection but Marcy was never going to dissuade seeing a real life spell. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Marcy watched on, grinning excitedly. Her best friend knew magic! Anne was already one of the coolest, nicest, and prettiest people she knew and now she could cast spells . She felt her heart pitter patter excitedly as Anne adopted her magic gesture, this time moving her hand down.. 

Anne's eyes started closed, but slowly opened, her pupils had turned a sky blue and a magical aura poured off of them in the same color. "Val called this... empath sight." Anne said, blindly reaching for the table to steady herself, "it basically turns me into a mood detector, I can tell how people are feeling through their aura..." she reached blindly for a chair and sat down, "unfortunately, it makes me basically blind to anything not alive. 

"Oh, oh, how am I feeling?" Sprig asked, pointing at himself excitedly 

"Bright green, so you seem pretty." Anne said with a grin, "didn't need magic to guess that Little Man."

"How about me?" Polly asked with a raised brow, purposely keeping a neutral expression as she munched on a skewer.

"Uh..." Anne raised a brow, light pink, so skeptical I think. Oh, darker hue, that's annoyed, now dark red, that's-" Polly threw a skewer at Anne's head, Anne unable to see it coming got hit full in the face "anger." she rubbed at her face and glared at the little Pollywog

Marcy noted down the color associations, leaving plenty of room to add to later. "How about me?" she looked up meeting Anne's very pretty eyes.

Anne got a little wrinkle in her brow, "Ah... huh... dark purple... haven't seen that shade much...." She tilted her head, looking at Marcy. 

"Huh... where have you seen it before?" Marcy said, curious. 

"Ah, lighter purple, that's thoughtful, Val got that one a lot." Anne commented as she started to think. "As for dark purple... I saw it only once at the bazaar.  There was a customer who was going about the stalls with that purple aura. Looking for a gift for someone..." Marcy paused in her scrawling as she considered how she was probably feeling a few moments ago. "Maybe it's like, calculating? Comparing prices?" Anne guessed before looking back to Marcy, "light yellow... something embarrassing Marcy?" Anne asked teasingly. 

"Nope." Marcy said and saw Anne flinch, rubbing at her temples. 

Anne smirked a bit, though still looking pained, "forgot to mention, this basically acts like a lie detector. I can... feel lies."

"ah... sorry," Marcy said sincerely, "just... connected the dots on some things is all." Marcy said honestly, if vaguely.  

Anne smiled, shrugging, "fair enough." she let out a breath and the blue aura faded from her eyes. Despite waking up a short time ago, Anne looked a bit haggard. 

"Is it... tiring to do magic?" Marcy asked curiously.

"A bit?" she admitted. "They all make me feel exhausted, but like... mentally more than physically?" Anne guessed at. "Like when we do standardized testing all day." Anne said, taking a drink of water.

Marcy took down notes, "Are there other limitations? Or things that make it worse?"

"Bigger is harder." Anne said with a nod. "Bigger the thing I try to move, the bigger the illusion I'm trying to make, the more people I'm... empath-ing?" Anne awkwardly tried to fit the noun  into a verb, "the more draining the spell is. I can move smaller stuff pretty easily." she said, demonstrating by casting a spell and moving one of their skewers in the air, to 'oo's' and 'awws' from Sprig. "but anything bigger than Polly can cause a backlash." 

Polly who had been listening off and on looked up in interest like that, "You could move me around with magic?" at a nod from Anne she grinned, "Do it, do it, do it!" Anne obliged, ending one spell and then picking up Polly. "haha! Yes! This is so cool!" Polly said as she glided through the air like an acrobat on a string. Anne smiled indulgently up at the little Pollywog, but Marcy could see the strain start to build up. 

Sprig looked up, a little jealous of his sister. this was not helped by the fact that Polly noticed this and blew raspberries at him. "How'd you lift up Marcy then?" he asked, “she’s way bigger than Polly.”

"Oh..." Anne thought it over, giving a little shrug, "guess I really wanted her safe." She said with a goofy smile. 

Marcy grinned at that, keeping her head down as she felt her cheeks warm, glad the empath spell was gone.  

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sprig asked, kind of offended, "I want to keep people safe too but I can't just lift them away with my mind ."

Marcy nodded, appreciating Sprig for thinking of the question in her flustered stead. 

Anne slowly dropped Polly back into her bucket, "that's just... how my magic works I guess?" Anne said with a shrug. "Val taught me each spell is about wanting something and then bending things to your will so that you can have them." She explained to a now clearly very interested Polly, " wanting something moved, wanting to see or hear something, wanting to understand." Anne explained, 

Marcy nodded in response and smiled as a realization dawned, "Oh, so... you didn't like, memorize any incantations or anything?" 

"no?" Anne shook her head with a shrug,

"What about the somatic component?" 

"The what?"

Marcy imitated Anne's gesture, moving it clockwise. 

"Oh! Right, that's not like... strictly necessary? It's more like a way to focus my mind?” Anne struggled to explain, "Val made me keep doing the same gesture for each spell till I was doing it on instinct with every cast, now it gets me in the right mindset. As for why wanting something doesn't work for y'all… I just pull from this... power source deep inside that Val clued me in on."

"Oh, Anne, that means you're not a wizard at all, you're a sorcerer!" Marcy grinned. 

"Sure?" Anne said with a shrug. 

"My character is a wizard right?" Sprig asked, and Marcy nodded. "So what's the difference?"

"Well wizards draw all of their power from their study of things." Marcy explained, focused on Sprig, "sorcerers have a kind of innate power within them that they then use to cast magic, they might have a few spells, but it's not like they study or anything. They're powered by some... inner force." Marcy paused, tapping the table in thought, Anne with her blue eyes, and Ram with their green... "Hey Anne, do you think- maybe we absorbed the power from the calamity box?" she turned, but Anne was at the stove fixing up some more skewers. 

"Hm, what powers?" Anne asked. 

Marcy paused for a moment, but shook it off. Sprig had asked her the question, "nothing," she waved off, noting the theory for herself down in her journal. "We should ask Maddie when she gets here, she might know more about all this." 

---

"Yeah, I know exactly what this is." Maddie said with a sagely nod. 

They had all relocated outside to the plantar field, Ivy had tagged along with Maddie, her and Sprig were play fighting on the stone walls near the edge of the farm. Anne was floating around garden tools. She had already done an illusion. 

"Really?" Marcy asked with great interest, pencil at the ready.  

"Yeah, this is beetle dung, how the hell are you doing that?" she walked over to circle around Anne, "Some kind of... curse? Potion? A ritual to bond yourself to some kind of psionic mushroom?"

"Nope, this is all..." she took a labored breath, "all me," Anne staggered and the garden tools she was holding up dropped into the Earth. "Hey Marbles, sorry, I think I need to rest." she said, holding her head.  

Marcy nodded in understanding, "no worries Anne, we can do something else for a bit. In fact... hey Maddie, did you hear that thunder last night?"

"Up by the north river?" Maddie thought for a moment then grinned in understanding. "You thinking something may have sprouted?" 

"Yep! Component hunt?" Marcy asked with a grin. 

"Component hunt!" Maddie agreed enthusiastically. 

"You guys going deep into the woods?" Ivy questioned, hopping off the wall after narrowly dismounting Sprig in their duel. 

"Probably, shall we make this a proper expedition for the World Hoppers?" Marcy asked with a grin. 

"Is this for one of your cool projects or does it help people?" Polly asked neutrally from behind her, nestled in her hood. 

"Both actually! Remember that little project I was telling you about last week, for town defenses?"

Polly's eyes sparkled at the mention, "lightning gun..." she said in reverent tones. Then thoughtful "eh, I can do without the hike. Let me know when the tinkering starts." Polly said with a wave of a flipper.. 

"Will do. The rest of you in?" Marcy smiled, holding out her fist for everyone. Everyone made a fist and performed the world hoppers handshake, World Hoppers Go!

"I'll go get my hiking pack." Sprig said, sprinting towards the house.

"I'll help!" Ivy said, running after them. 

Maddie meanwhile took out a book, flipping to a page about their quarry of the day. 

Marcy picked up Polly and returned her to her bucket. It felt... nice to be going on another excursion like this. She had hung out with everyone individually since Toad Tower, but she'd kind of been reluctant to call another World Hopper meeting. Even this one just turned out that way by accident. 

"So, they got you to do a secret handshake, huh?" Anne said, sidling up next to Marcy.

"Oh, no actually that was my idea." Marcy said with a smile. "I was..." Missing you. Lovesick. In denial of the possibility I'd gotten you eaten by an overgrown parrot. "...feeling nostalgic. We used to have all those handshakes when we were little."

"Yeah, but I mean, they were kind of dorky right? Way too complicated." Anne forced a laugh, scratching the back of her head. "I mean, who could remember all those steps, right?"

Marcy raised a brow, and held up a hand as if to high five. "Hey, Anne, want to get some boba this weekend?"

Anne hesitated for a moment before smiling, holding up her own hand, the two began a complicated handshake. Step one, side five. Two, back five with the back of their hands. Three, Grab forearms.  Four, skip in a half circle, still grasping. Five, slide your hands across forearms as you pull back. Six, spin once. Seven, fist bump. Eight, finish with a sassy snap.  All the while they said in unison, " Boba tea, for you, for me. Boba tea, we love to see. I think we can all agree. It's time to get some boba tea! " 

Maddie looked up from her book, watching with a disturbed fascination

Anne and Marcy both giggled at the finished result, Anne had a confused but pleased smile, "you remembered all that?" she asked, clearly surprised. 

"Yeah!" Marcy said with a shrug. "I know you kinda got over them, but I always thought they were neat."

"Huh..." Anne frowned in thought.

Sprig and Ivy came back with the little survival backpack Marcy had made for him. They saw the tail end of the handshake and Sprig whispered to Maddie, "hey, what's happening?"

"The humans have either completed some kind of courtship ritual... or they are about to fight to the death." Maddie said with an interested hum.

Marcy blushed at the possibility, but Anne just laughed, "naw, just an old handshake me and Marcy used to do." Anne waved off. 

"Oh ya... Marcy mentioned she got the idea from an old friend of hers." Maddie said with a nod, "so definitely not going to fight to the death then?"

"No." Marcy deadpanned. 

Polly smirked up at her older sister, “well that just leaves the other possibili-”

"Come on, let's head out everyone! See you later Polly!" Marcy insisted, grabbing Anne’s hand and marching off before Polly could get out the teasing.

They started to hike northward, hiking over the rough terrain in the general direction of the western mountains. 

Anne kept half a pace behind Marcy. Marcy could feel her tensed to grab her if she tripped or made a mistake, but she wasn't gonna, after a few months of hiking these woods she was a regular ranger at navigating them. Which is what she thought right before a stone that looked solid slipped out from under her. Before she could fall, Anne put a long practiced hand on the small of her back, keeping her up with a huff of exertion. 

"I gotcha Mar-Mar." Anne said, giving her a little push to get her back on her feet. 

Marcy blushed, a little embarrassed but grateful for the aid . "Thanks Anne," she said genuinely. Marcy looked around, reaching into her bag and pulling out a map. "Hey Sprig, can you come help me, I think we might have gone off course somewhere..."

Sprig dutifully hopped up onto her shoulder to look over it while their party came to a stop.

Out of her periphery, Marcy watched as Ivy hopped onto Anne's right shoulder, "Hey, so you're a human too, right?" 

"Yup." Anne nodded. 

"So does that mean you like getting ambushed?"

"Like attacked? No." Anne said with a little frown. 

Anne staggered a bit when Maddie jumped onto her left shoulder, "what about being possessed? Does that interest you?"

Anne didn't answer at first, just blinking slowly before turning to Marcy, "Mar-Mar, are these kids... bullying you?" she said not sure how that would work.

"No, no," Marcy waved off the question casually, "I consented to both of those things." she assured. Ivy and Maddie shrugged, disappointed, hopping off Anne's shoulder. 

"I think we made a wrong turn back here and..." Sprig said, and Marcy understood. 

"Ah, that's where we are, okay, come on everyone! Science awaits!" Marcy said, pointing towards where she had seen the storm the other day. 

"Woo! Science!" came a call from the other world hoppers. As they began hiking again this time downhill, Marcy noticed as Anne took a strategic position in front of her. 

"Wow, Sprig, I really didn't take you for the science-y type." Anne said. "Wait. Is science cool here? Am I the nerd in this world?"

"Oh, I'm not really. I tried to help out Marcy a few times but I got pretty easily distracted." Sprig agreed. 

"So..." Anne prompted, confused. 

"Well, whenever Marcy needs to do science, it usually leads to some kind of adventure!" Sprig said, with a grin. 

Ivy nodded, "sometimes we need to fight a monster or scale some old ravine." she grinned, "worst case she invents some cool new gadget with whatever we find."

Anne looked over to Maddie, seeing if she had anything to add. Maddie only shrugged, "I actually am in it for the ‘science’. This whole 'scientific method' you humans came up with really expanded the possibilities for the dark arts..." Maddie tapped her finger tips together with a creepy grin. "So many... many possibilities"

As they came to a river Marcy turned to the group, "alright, how about we split up? Sprig, Maddie, Ivy, you take upriver while me and Anne start looking downriver."

"Sounds good," Sprig gave a thumbs up. 

"You got a golem potion to send word if you find it?" Marcy asked, pointing towards Maddie who nodded. 

Ivy tapped Maddie on the shoulder as the two groups began to separate, "Hey, is there anything else we should be on the lookout for?" Ivy asked, "other stuff besides the flower?"

Maddie shaken "Well, I am low on a couple of ingredients..." Maddie said, flipping open her book, Sprig and Ivy crowded around her looking into her book.

Anne fell into pace next to Marcy, "So uh, I know this is pretty late in the day for this, but what exactly are we looking for?" 

"Oh!" Marcy couldn't believe she had neglected to tell Anne about this, it was so cool! "We're looking for a thunder bloom! It's this flower that only blooms when the bulb can absorb a bunch of ambient ions in the air!" Marcy explained excitedly, she slipped her journal out from the bag and flipped it open to a recent page, a sketch she had made of the flower within. an ivory white stem with pointed orange petals.  On each petal a forking white zig zag streak. Marcy snorted a bit in laughter, "Really, it should be called a lightning bloom, since that's what supercharges the bulbs to grow, but what are you going to do?"

Anne looked over the journal, "Nice drawing Mar-Mar!"

"Thanks! Anyways, it's the last ingredient I need for a big infrastructure project, not just for Wartwood, but for the valley! So you know the little set up we have for our phones back at the house, with zappy?"

Anne nodded,

"Well I want to try and expand that into a full on electrical grid! However, I ran into a pretty big problem. Unlike generators on earth, zappapedles don't consistently output electricity, so without a battery, it would basically be a blackout between each zap." Marcy said with a frown, "I've been looking into making batteries here, but can't find a strong enough magnet to get the job done. But then I thought, what if you could create an alchemical battery! Then it could consistently absorb the zapappedles energy which could then be tapped into by the energy grid! That's where the thunder bloom comes in! It's the key ingredient to make this battery potion, well, its pollen is anyways."

"Huh." 

"It is pretty dangerous though, deadly even. It ejects it in a protective cloud, so we'll have to be careful when we-"

"Is that it over there?" Anne asked, glancing down at the journal picture then pointing out towards the riverbank. Right on the edge of the water a thunder bloom clung to the dirt, flower open towards the sun. That would complicate things a little, but she had a solution. 

Marcy slipped her journal away into her bag and zipped it up water tight. That would complicate things a little, but she had a solution. 

"Alright We need to be careful," Marcy set down her bag, "avoid as much exposed skin as possible and-" as she spoke she heard the sliding of earth ahead of her.

Marcy looked up, Anne was sliding down the ridge towards the flower, casting her mage hand over the flower and uprooting it. Marcy felt her blood run cold, scrambling up over the ridge towards her friend. Anne lifted up the flower to inspect it, and Marcy saw as its petals contracted inward, to Anne's confusion. "Anne!" Anne turned just as Marcy bodily shoved her to the side. Before Marcy could get out of the way herself the petals exploded out in a cloud of crackling yellow pollen, Marcy braced herself as they coated the side of her face.

Then everything was blinding pain. 

Electrical currents shot through her body, through each speck of pollen, shutting down her nervous system, constricting muscles. Her legs gave out from under her and she fell face first into the rushing river.

---

Anne hit the dirt, feeling little scuffs on her elbows. "What the hell Mar-" her anger cut off at the sound of Marcy's body hitting the water. 

Anne, acting on more instinct than thought, got up on her feet and hurled herself into the river after Marcy. She dived in looking for Marcy and found her body limp being carried away by the river. 

What was Marcy doing? Did she knock herself out when she shoved her? Anne surfaced for a moment to get a deeper breath before the hard part. Fortunately she could see ahead the river deadended... somehow. Did rivers just end randomly? 

No time. Anne got down to Marcy and started to haul her body up from the water. They surfaced and Anne saw the bank at the end of the river and started to go towards it. 

Suddenly she felt them both be pulled down beneath the water. For a moment Anne worried it was some kind of monster pulling them down, but saw that it was instead a gaping hole below the river, and the current was dragging them down into it. Anne pulled at Marcy, but the current refused to let go. Again on instinct Anne dived to wrap herself protectively around Marcy as they plunged down into pitch darkness. 

For a moment, the rushing disorienting current felt a little like a water slide. Dark and exhilarating right up until a sudden turn slammed them into the wall of the tunnel. Anne felt future bruises form on her back as they spun out blindly with the course of the river. The next one struck her in the arm and she almost lost her grip on Marcy. 

Anne pulled Marcy protectively closer to her, trying to summon up some kind of magic. 

She wanted them both safe. She wanted them both protected. She wanted- 

This time it was her leg.

She Wanted To Stop Ping Ponging Off These Frickin Walls!

Anne felt her lungs start to burn while her head swam as her magic kicked in. A light glowing... bubble of some kind appeared around them. Just barely shedding enough light to see the wall they were hurtling into before contact. Anne braced herself, but as it struck against the bubble they spun away with far less damage. Anne held onto Marcy for dear life as they struck a wall twice more. She was starting to feel faint when there was finally a slowing in the current. Less of a rushing rapid and more lazy river. Above was a soft blue light. Were they out of this hellish tunnel? 

With great relief she dropped the protective bubble and started to swim up. She broke the surface, taking in a deep breath of air as she looked around. Well... She wasn't outside, that was definitely a cavern roof above them, really the important thing was that there was air. There were also... crystals. Huge clusters of blue glowing crystals on the ceiling, bathing the whole cavern in soft light. 

Wait... focus Anne! "Mar-Mar, wake up." Anne jostled Marcy but she wasn't coming to. She probably swallowed too much water when she fell in. Anne fretted and looked around, spotting a small outcropping of stone that sat above the water. Anne pushed her tired bruised body to the out cropping, managing just barely to haul both of their soaked bodies out of the water. 

Anne put her ear to Marcy's mouth, but heard no breathing. Okay, no problem, this is exactly what private school electives were for. Granted, she had only practiced on a CPR dummy, but there was no better time to get some practice!  

Anne tilted Marcy's head back just slightly, she leaned down and breathed twice gently into Marcy's mouth. One breath, two breath. She pulled away, putting the heel of her hand on Marcy's chest and started compressions. "One, two, three, four, five, one! One, two, three, four, five, two!" Anne felt tears start to prickle at her eyes as Marcy didn’t respond. 

This wasn't happening. Everything was just fine a couple minutes ago. It was just a hike through the forest. 

"One, two, three, four, five, Six!" That was thirty. She leaned down, locking her lips around Marcy's again. One breath, two-

One thing dummies didn't prepare you for was your patient spitting river water down your windpipe upon success. Both Marcy and Anne turned away from each other coughing and sputtering. 

"Augh..." Marcy groaned as she spat out the last bit of water out of her system. 

"Marcy!" Anne helped Marcy sit up. "Thank frog you're alright!"

"Hey Anna Banana." she responded weakly. "You too."

Anne pulled back, a little frown on her face, "why did you shove me!? You tripped and fell into the river!" Anne said, relief now being overtaken by a protective worry. "Did you hit your head?" Anne squinted in the low light, there was a mark on the side of Marcy's face, but it looked less like a swelling bruise and more like... burns? What?

Marcy's eyes looked into Anne's, bewildered, she took a few breaths and then shook her head, "Anne, why did you pluck the flower?" 

Anne blinked, thrown off by the question, "cause that's what we were out there for?" Anne answered patiently. 

"No... we were there for the pollen" Marcy said slowly.

Anne shrugged, they could have gotten the pollen after they took the flower right? What was the big deal?

At Anne's indifference Marcy elaborated, eyes growing serious, "the extremely deadly pollen? That it releases as a defense mechanism?" Marcy rubbed at the burns on her face, "felt like getting hit by a taser." Anne winced, remembering a little bit of mischief gone wrong when she, Marcy, and Sasha had gotten their hands on a taser gun from a Spend Co.

"Wait... deadly?" Anne said, surprised. 

"Yeah. That's what the book said. Probably would have been to an amphibian, their mucus-y bodies are probably more conductive than a dry human," Marcy explained, a little distractedly. 

"So... you thought I was gonna die?" Anne let out a nervous chuckle, incredulous, "and jumped in the way?" 

"Yeah?" Marcy said, like it was obvious.

"Why?" She was supposed to protect Marcy, not the other way around. 

"I mean, you jumped in after me. Not like you have a leg to stand on." Marcy said with a raised brow and a smirk. "I've grown a lot out here Anne. We can look out for each other now."

Anne felt a pang of... something, something weird in her stomach. Marcy had saved her and gotten hurt in the process. Almost died in the process. Anne reached up grazing the burned area, Marcy flinched at the touch but didn't object. "Why were we trying to get something so dangerous..." 

Anne pretty much immediately sensed she had made some kind of misstep. The smirk on Marcy's face fell away to a neutral expression, pulling away. 

Anne quickly guessed where she had gone wrong, "You... uh, explained that too... didn't you?" she said awkwardly, moving her hand to scratch at the back of her head. "Sorry, I must have been really spacing earlier." Anne said with a forced laugh. She paused for Marcy to respond, but Marcy's eyes seemed unfocused, thinking about something. The silence stretched on, and Anne pressed, "Marcy, you there?"

Marcy came back down to Earth, shaking out of her thoughts. As she focused back on Anne, a smile came to her face, "Sorry, just thinking on a way out of here. Thanks for the save, Anne." 

"Ditto," Anne said with a smile. "Uh, where do you think ‘here’ is?" Anne asked, gesturing around to the crystals above them. 

"The river must have transitioned to a subterranean one." Marcy said, looking around. "I think I have a way out of this... You see that algae up there around the glow stone?" Marcy pointed up and all along the roof it looked like some blue kind of... mold? Grew around the crystals. Marcy opened her bag and casually drew a rather large hunting knife from it, "do you think you can scrape me off some?" She offered Anne the knife and a little cloth sack.

Anne nodded, casting on the knife and bag and levitating them into the air. Her head swam, but she kept at it, if Marcy needed this for her plan, she was happy to help. However, she was dangerously close to a burn out and felt her grasp on both objects slipping. She lost grip on both and Marcy had to pull Anne away when the knife clattered on the rocks. 

Marcy looked back to Anne, worried, "Anne, you good?"

Anne staggered and Marcy guided her into a sitting position, "just... wow, a lot of magic today..." 

Marcy smiled, "my fault, no worries, sit down and rest and I'll whip us up something."

Marcy took the little baggie and started to pull out... some kind of chemistry stuff from her bag, little test tubes, straight and wide bottomed. various bags. Also one of those stone things Anne's parents used to mix spice blends together. Marcy worked with focus, mixing things together, dipping various tubes into the river. It was kind of mesmerizing to watch her work. It reminded her of when they did group projects in school. Marcy was unstoppable during those.

Something felt... off though. Anne was having a bit of trouble putting her finger on it, but there was definitely something missing. She felt a squish of her sock and realized she had lost her shoe again at some point in the murder waterslide. Was that it? No, something else.

After a minute or two she realized what was wrong. It was quiet! Usually Marcy would be explaining all the steps to things and what she was doing and why. Mixing in an anecdote she heard that was tangentially related. Anne liked taking in her voice, it was relaxing, and Marcy liked to go on, so it was a win-win. Well, that could be solved easily enough. "Hey, so... what's the plan exactly."

Marcy kept working but spared Anne a glance, "it's a potion I read about. It was originally designed for non-amphibious-" she paused and shook her head, "it'll let us breathe underwater for a while." she summarized and then went back to working. 

Anne nodded along, but stopped. That was... short and to the point. Maybe it was too simple a subject. "So the glow stones are pretty, what are they all about?"

Marcy nodded, "yeah, they're pretty rare actually, they mostly occur by ocean grottos and what not. Away from the sun but near the water. They... Well, thanks to them this algae has some magic properties." 

Anne frowned, these were solid answers... but they weren't Marcy answers. Marcy expounded passionately about all sorts of stuff. Always with some new topic or interest. If something was wrong, she didn't look it. She was smiling like normal, working happily on that potion. Anne might be overreacting, but Marcy did get hurt. Maybe she was secretly mad at Anne for messing up her pollen collecting. They were in this situation because of her. She'd never known Marcy to be unforgiving, but...

Ugh, she was thinking in circles... she made her spell gesture  and pulled down, closing her eyes and letting her vision adjust. She had done her best earlier, but it was hard to describe what exactly she saw when she did her empath sight. 

Most of the world just disappeared into void. She could see the algae on the roof still, tiny peaceful purple auras radiating off of them. She could also see Marcy, though all of the equipment she was manipulating faded out of sight. 

Anne had expected to see the thoughtful purple she had seen before. Appropriate for the inquisitive and curious Marcy. Worried she might see a red simmering anger or a lighter shade of annoyed. What she saw instead was a lot more alarming. A deep dark navy blue clung to Marcy, poured off of her in waves. Blues were bad in any shade, but dark blues were worse. They always represented some deep loneliness or loss. She had seen it with a frog who bet the deed to his home in a desperate gamble. She had seen it when some toad found his stand ransacked and looted by his partner. He had seen it cling to a frog who sat down at a drinking cart, alone, for the length of the bazaar. 

It was not an aura that should be on Marcy, and it definitely wasn't one that matched the smile she had on her face. 

"Hey Mar-Mar, you feeling alright?" Anne asked a little awkwardly. 

Marcy nodded, "Ì̹̮̪͉̟̲'̙͍̖̱̯m̙͎̬͖ ̖̣͙d̻̼͎̙o̸͓͉̣̞̦̤͍i̳͜n͍̯̞̩̟͚̠͘g͎ ͙̞̺͎͘f̬̣̬̟̮͕̟i̟̭̻͘ͅn͟e ̻̣̯A̪̭ͅn̶̲͖̥n̩̳̺̫͟e̼͘." Anne winced. An unpleasant... static clung to Marcy's words. Which meant that was a lie. "Are you alright?" a band of light yellow, concern, pulsed through Marcy's aura..

Anne hesitated a moment in answering, but nodded, "I'm okay I think. Got a little banged up on the way down."

"We should take a look at that when we get out of here." Marcy said clearly making a mental note to herself. "I'd do it now, but I saw some overcast overhead, and don't want rain to flood our little island here."

"Got it..." Then quiet again, and the bands of yellow faded back into dark blue.

Anne tapped at her knees with her knuckles as she thought this through. Marcy would tell her if something was bothering her, wouldn't she? They were best friends! Anne had comforted her plenty of times before. But then, those times Anne hadn’t been the cause and had been obviously upset already. Marcy never approached her with any problems, she always… always seemed in good spirits. 

The thought suddenly took root in Anne's stomach like a lead weight. "Hey Marcy, are you mad that I got us in this situation?"

Marcy paused for a moment before she answered, "No, not really."

Anne nodded, right, not angry, she could see that. "Are you upset?"

"N̟̥o͍̼͚̯͖͜." Marcy answered shortly. 

Anne winced, well that was fair, "It was an honest mistake..."

Marcy's brow furrowed, "Anne I said I wasn't angry, what's-" Marcy looked up, making eye contact. Her eyes opened wide with realization. The mask she had been wearing drained away, "ah." 

"Marcy..."

"You should turn that off." Marcy said neutrally, "you’re close to a burnout."

"Is that the reason you want it off?"

"It's one of them." Marcy stated plainly. When Anne's eyes didn't fade into their normal dark brown, Marcy shook her head, "Anne, it's not important."

Not a lie. Hm. "Is it upsetting you?" 

"N̟̥-" she paused, then sighed, "yes." 

Anne felt a bang of sadness course through her. "Well then it's important to me." Anne countered. Anne saw that weird purple aura from that morning ripple out from Marcy briefly. She really could not get a read on that one. "What is it Marcy?"

"Anne, it's... it's complicated, but I'll g̳͎̼e͙͖̱͖̼͢ṯ͚͚̣̰̥͎ ̗̥͔͇o̵̲v͓̺͎̪̞e̦͚̺͔r͔ ̩̲̠͓̲̬͇i̤̳͖̬̥̯͟ț̪͢.̜̱̬͙" Anne flinched in pain and Marcy looked regretful. "I'll... deal with it." she corrected. "Right now, what I need is for you to not pass out before we escape."

Anne rubbed at her temple. Focused on one person, empath sight was the least strenuous of her spells, but that didn't mean she wasn't playing with fire. Still, she didn't want to drop this. Marcy was smart. If she got time to think it through, she could probably subvert the lie detector. Like Val always did, "Then we should get started." Anne said stubbornly. 

Marcy frowned, "Anne," flashes of red annoyance spread through her aura. When Anne didn't relent she sighed, "fine, but no fishing for other stuff. If I say something is unrelated, and it doesn't come up as a lie, you drop it. Otherwise I'm gonna clam up and say nothing." 

Anne nodded, "Deal. What's upsetting you Marcy?" she asked seriously. 

"Well, I'm being forced to have a social confrontation or else a friend of mine will get hurt," Marcy said flippantly, “which is a literal nightmare scenario I’ve had.”

"Got it. What else is bothering you?"

Marcy took a deep breath, bracing herself. "Sometimes it hurts when you and Sasha dismiss an interest of mine out of hand." she says going back to focusing on her work. 

Anne swallowed at that, instincts to be defensive, "hey, we do things you like sometimes."

"No, sometimes you humor me." Marcy corrected and Anne flinched at the bitterness in her voice. "You'll put on War of the Warlocks when it's already 3AM and you'll pass out at the halfway point. You'll both show up for character creation for C&C and then half an hour in have really convenient excuses to bail."

Anne laughed a bit, out of anxiety more than anything else, "Oh... uh, noticed that huh?" 

“Not the first couple of times.” Marcy said with a sigh. 

Both of those had been Sasha's plan, but Anne had backed her up on them, "Okay, but... I mean, it’s not like you feign interest in our stuff." Anne reasoned. 

Marcy gave a shrugging nod in concession, "T̥h̗͖̜̀a̳̭t͍̤̖̺'̥̯͚͟s̩͓ ̥f̗a̘i͈̭̟̫̥̺ṛ̴͎͍.̸" 

"... do you?" Anne frowned.

Marcy's eyes looked up, eyes wide with surprise, "Wow, that spell is sensitive , that one was technically true." Marcy laughed with a little shake of her head. 

"Marcy." Anne said seriously. 

"Okay… I wouldn't say I feign interest," Marcy said, pausing to see if Anne read that as false, "however, I do push myself to take an interest in things I otherwise wouldn't."

"... like what?"

Marcy sighed, "Anne, I'm not super invested in Suspicion Island." 

"What? That's ridiculous, you always have the best theories each season! You guessed the big finale twist of last season after episode 2!"

"Sure, I like talking to you and Sash about it. That's super fun for me, but the actual show itself..." she made a waffling gesture, "kind of formulaic, fun in a melodramatic way, and I like picking it apart, but if you and Sash stopped watching, I wouldn't have much of a solo interest in it."

Anne nodded in understanding, "Okay... anything else?"

"Anne, do I seem like someone who likes sports?" Marcy asked, voice kind of defeated. 

"No, not really, outside of tennis obviously." Anne said with a shrug. Marcy looked up, quietly making eye contact for a few seconds until it clicked for Anne. "Oh... but you've been to most of my practices and games, heck, you’ve given me more tips on my form than my coach has." Anne excused,

"Cause it's important to you." Marcy explained, "So I found things in it that interested me, and of course I love supporting you and watching you play." she said, and for a moment her mood lightened, to a shade of weak joyful of green. Then a look of realization came over her face and her aura shifted to an embarrassed yellow along with a blush on her face. 

"Uh..." Anne raised a finger. 

"Unrelated." Marcy preempted. Anne frowned, curious, but knowing she had made a promise. Marcy took a deep breath, her aura slowly shifted back to a dark blue.

"... so is it the same with the handshakes?" she asked, a little self consciously. She had been really happy when Marcy had remembered their boba shake earlier. 

"No." Marcy said with a confused frown, "Those were fun." she hesitated then gave a waffling gesture, "a little stressful sometimes. Lots of coordination and reading social cues. But otherwise, yeah, pretty fun."

Anne nodded, a little relieved at that.

Marcy took Anne's silence as a prompt to press on, "and it's not like we have to share every interest. I definitely just do not get gossip. Can't focus on it. I've tried, but if it's not about you or Sash, it just numbs my brain." she said with a chuckle. Anne definitely remembered Marcy's eyes glazing over into her switch whenever school drama became the topic of discussion. "And if you guys tried, honestly tried, my things and didn't like it, fair enough! I wouldn't have brought them up again." Marcy said gesturing up, "it just, it would have been nice if you had given them a real chance." she sighed, Anne went to apologize, but Marcy shook her head, pinching at the bridge of her nose. "but... maybe that was unreasonable, selfish." After taking a short breath, she looked up, "That's... basically it. Its stupid, I'll deal with it. Can you please drop the spell now." Marcy pleaded. 

Anne felt a chord of guilt ring through her. She had known those things were important to Marcy, but she hadn't really given them an honest chance. Easier to joke around with Sasha at how nerdy they were. She thought Marcy was okay with their poking fun, but she was clearly better at masking her emotions than Anne thought. How often has Anne made Marcy feel like this?

A part of her wanted to drop the spell, the strain was starting to hurt again and she didn’t want to see more. But... something was off. She felt a lump of worry in her throat, one she had to swallow down before she asked her next question. "What brought this up today?" Marcy had seemed fine that morning, and Anne had been pretty attentive during their little magical study. What had reminded her of all this?

Marcy's eyes flashed to a pleading look, but when met with Anne's stubborn stare she relented. She let out a sigh, shoulders slumping in defeat as she started to look down at something and starting to stir it. "You... always listened." Marcy started in a vulnerable voice. "I really like sharing things I learn about, it's just... I know it's weird, but I love having the chance to share it.” Marcy struggled to find the words. “I know that most people find it annoying or boring... they'd tell me to shut up or be quiet." Marcy explained slowly Anne saw Marcy's hands shake a little and for the moment she put down her tools carefully.

Anne nodded, she had remembered some of the people who used to bother Marcy in grade school. Sasha would usually chase them off while Anne comforted Marcy. 

"But you always listened." Marcy repeated with a smile. "You always listened and it always made me feel... wanted..." she shrugged, clearly uncomfortable admitting this. "It... it always meant a lot to me." Anne felt a warm tingling feeling. That feeling morphed into a rock in her stomach as Marcy looked up at Anne, her smile not reaching her eyes. "I realized today… that wasn't really the case, was it?" emotion cracked her voice. "The truth was that it was boring. And you were annoyed." she tapped at her knee gently, "You were just too nice to say otherwise... so you'd just tune me out and let me talk…” tears for the first time glistening in her eyes, “humoring me again." she finished her smile finally dropping from her face. 

Anne felt regret sink into her heart, "I... I'm sorry Marcy, I-"

"Don't be." Marcy interrupted her with a shake of her head. She broke eye contact, "It's like we talked about the other night. You shouldn't have to do things just for my sake." 

Anne flinched at the words. They had been such a comfort last night now felt like a knife. There was no resentment or bitterness, just an acceptance that hurt much worse somehow.

"But... ultimately its good I found out. I'll be able to be a better friend to you now." Marcy said and Anne hated seeing that the notion lightened her aura at all. "It's just... upsetting for the moment you know?" she looked back up, "there. That is what I am upset about right now. Please , turn off your sight before you burn out?" there was an urgency in her voice, but no longer any attempt to hide anything.

Anne finally dropped the spell, the dim light and features of the cavern filtering back in as her head spun. Marcy seeing her eyes go back to normal let out a sigh of relief and went back to looking at her potion in progress. Anne scrambled to find something to say, something genuine but nothing was coming to her. In the absence of any comment, Marcy filled the void. 

"It is kind of funny, you know?" Marcy said, placing a fist under her head to prop it up. "I mean, taking eight years to read the room... classic Marcy..." 

Anne shook, tears pooling at her eyes. She felt angry and frustrated at herself. She had never wanted to make Marcy look like that, feel like that. It hurt worse cause none of it was exaggerated for Marcy, she truly believed that all to be the truth. What was worse was that to some degree it was. 

At some point listening to Marcy talk about her passions had become something Anne did for her. Like keeping an eye out for her or keeping her safe. She'd patted herself on the back for it. What a good friend she was to put up with her. Anne couldn't remember when she had started to think like that. 

But she knew it wasn't always like that. 

She remembered on the fifth day of kindergarten when she first became friends with Marcy. One of the first things she told her was about her new kitten Domino and Marcy shyly asking if she wanted to know some cat facts. Anne had been so excited to hear about them, and like that it had become a kind of daily ritual. On the playground or the lunchroom Marcy would ask if Anne wanted to hear something interesting and Anne would listen each time. Coming home to repeat the information to her parents around the dinner table. She didn't always understand what Marcy was obsessed about, but she loved to hear her talk about it. The way her face lit up. The way her voice grew excited over the smallest details, all building towards some larger point. The feeling that Marcy was sharing a secret with just her, a side reserved for Anne alone. 

A side Anne had taken for granted. A side that Anne feared she might never see again. Fear that Anne had relegated herself to the masses of people that Marcy clammed up around.  

Anne knew she’d screwed up, but prayed she could still salvage it. It had been a couple of minutes, Marcy largely distracting herself with working on the potion. She held up one of those wide bottomed test tubes up to the dim light before finally dipping it into the water. and swirling it around. Satisfied she reached into her bag and pulled out a small baggie. She wiped her hand dry before reaching inside and pulling out a small red pebble. She cracked it against the stone, breaking it up into pieces. She picked up a shard and dropped it into the flask. The red rock disappeared inside the cloudy potion before it began to bubble violently. A consistent pillar of steam started to pour out from the beaker. 

"What's that?" Anne asked quietly, pointing at the remains of the little red rock. 

Marcy was shook out of her thoughts, swallowing a dry mouth before answering, "they're boil beads," Marcy answered shortly. 

"How do they work?" Anne asked, genuinely curious. 

"They help boil the potion when I don't have a heat source..."

"Wouldn't that, like, mess with the potion?" Anne recalled some kind recipe in Marcy’s books

"No, its- they're alchemically neutral so-" Marcy paused letting out a breath, "this is why I didn't" she muttered before looking up with an attempt at a reassuring smile, "Anne, it's fine you don't have to pretend any-"

Anne reached out, putting a hand over one of Marcy's, "I'm listening. Promise" Anne assured a little more desperately than intended. "I... I'll probably need to ask questions. If that's okay?" Marcy looked fragile, unsure. Anne added, a little embarrassed, "I really do enjoy hearing you talk about the things you love... it's relaxing for me," Anne admitted. "I'm sorry I wasn't holding up my end."

Marcy cupped a hand over her mouth pensively, taking a slow breath. She continued but at low energy, "so they're alchemically neutral so the potion will be fine"

"What's that mean?" Anne asked. "Alchemically neutral?"

Marcy blinked, collecting herself. "It's... so some substances, cast iron, glass," she pointed to one of her test tubes, "are alchemically neutral, basically they won't affect a potion that they come into contact with. It's hard to do that with something that has a magical effect like boil beads, but it's possible." she said, holding up a shard of bead before adding it into the potion that had begun cooling down

"Got it. So what are these like super hot or something?" Anne shook her head, feeling dumb, "no you were holding them."

Marcy smiled weakly, without judgment, "You're not wrong in a way. They only become hot in liquids, hot enough to almost instantly boil water." While she talked, she continued with the potion, pouring the now boiled down potion into a mixture she had made earlier. 

Huh, that was kind of neat, "wait, then why didn't they all boil away earlier? When we plunged into the river?" Anne looked around at Marcy's stuff, including the journaly she had been reading from, she had been so focused on Marcy she hadn't even noticed something rather bizarre. Anne reached out and thumbed the pages of Marcy's journal. It was completely dry! "How is all your junk not soaked?"

Marcy chuckled, "Oh, I cursed my bag." Marcy said, as if that was just a thing people did. 

"What do you mean you cursed your bag?"

"It's kind of a process," Marcy said, scratching the back of her head, 

"We have time." Anne said with a shrug, then paused, "wait, do we? I actually don't know how long this is supposed to take." she gestured at the cooling potion

"We... do." Marcy admitted. 

"Sprig called you a witch earlier..." Anne said with a mock suspicious glare. "Like, is your bag evil now... are you evil now?"  

There was a little hesitation at Anne's joke, and Anne worried she had misstepped again. But Marcy quickly recovered, "no, no. Witch means I practice the Dark Arts... which sounds worse than it really is. Kind of. Okay, so basically there are curses, potions, and rituals, right?"

"Sure?" Anne schooled herself shaking her head, "No, wait, sorry. What are those things?"

Marcy gave a rundown of the difference, and Anne got the jist. Curses were like crafted spells that affected living things and were usually bad, They could only be cured by the caster. Potions were more like magic chemistry whose effects might wear off or could be permanent. Rituals were for cult stuff. Weird sigils, chanting, sacrifices, the works. 

"Got it. I think" Anne said with a fair bit of confidence. "So, the bag?" 

"A month or so ago, I made this anti-water curse for me and the Plantars cause there was this big storm, it keeps you bone dry."

"Well wait, that sounds useful, why is it a-"

"You also can't hydrate while it's active so you'd die in days."

"Ah."

"Anyways, my stuff kept getting wet, so I wondered if there was a way to make it so my bag had the same effect-"

"But your bag isn't alive? So the curse…" Anne guessed and was rewarded with a genuine spark of excitement in Marcy's eyes. 

"Right! So I talked to Maddie and we found this ritual to make it alive."

"What?" Anne's eyes became dubious, looking at the bag with worry. 

"Oh," Marcy seemed to realize how unnerving that sounded. "Don't worry, it has the soul of moss, but that means it's technically curse-able." Marcy said proudly.

"So your bag has the soul of moss?" Anne asked and Marcy nodded, "and moss likes water, right?"

"Yeah, they need to be misted pretty regularly." Marcy confirmed

"Then you cursed it to never touch water again?" Anne gave a teasing smile, Marcy opened her mouth to retort then her eyebrows knit together. Anne giggled at her friend's sudden moral crisis. "So about that 'are you evil now?' question I had."

Marcy smirked, rolling her eyes, "Don't be dramatic, it's moss, Anne,"

Anne reached over to puppet the bag flap like it was a mouth, affecting a squeaky voice, " Mother, let me drink, pleaaase. "

Marcy shoved her in the shoulder playfully, and both of them started to giggle. 

There was a brief flash of light from two of Marcy's test tubes, one after another, and the murky liquid she had been working on glowed and now shone an otherworldly dark blue, with speckles of light that looked like stardust. "Oh, potions're done.'' She gently lifted one and offered one to Anne. 

"So, these will let us breathe underwater?"

"Well, they'll make us grow gills, and those will let us breathe underwater." Marcy clarified. At Anne's hesitation she assured, "it will be temporary, About an hour if my estimations are correct." Marcy started to pack up her stuff carefully in her living bag, zipping it closed, and fastening it close to herself "ready to get out of here?" 

Anne nodded, taking a drink without hesitation. She swished it around her mouth a few times before swallowing, "huh that didn't taste like I tho-" her voice caught as she felt skin on her neck part and open. Suddenly it felt like she was sucking in smoke. gasping for air. She started to panic, dropping her vial and looking at Marcy for help. Marcy's eyes went wide in understanding but ultimately settled on stepping forward and shoving Anne off their little rock island. 

Anne, too stunned to resist, hit the water. Instinctually she tried to hold her breath, but had none to preserve. Her body forced her to try and breathe in and she shuddered at the sensation of water entering into the openings in her neck, her chest felt physically heavy. Still, she could feel her body start to recover from the sudden suffocation, breathing the water in and out.

She heard a splash not too far off, seeing Marcy join her in the water. Marcy looked around desperately for Anne, and then swam over to check on her.  Anne tried to mouth the words 'What the hell!' gesturing wildly.

Marcy smiled awkwardly, holding up a single finger and mouthing back, 'first time, sorry!' Marcy waved Anne to follow and the two of them started towards a dim illuminated cavern. Fortunately for both of their sakes, the stream was much calmer as they continued, not nearly as fast as it had been on their way in. The water still felt warm as it had above, The numbers of glow stone patches increased until they were swimming through a tunnel of otherworldly beauty. 

The shining crystals guided their progress. Anne watched Marcy swim about with fascination, the genuine joy on her face easy to see. Her anxious hands kept reaching for a pencil and paper only to stop, remembering that would both not work and be a terrible idea. Her short raven black hair gently swayed in the water as her head whipped one way or another. 

It was a... relief, knowing that Anne hadn't been closed off from this side of Marcy. Relief? It felt off, or not fully accurate, but it was close enough for now. 

Occasionally the river split off one way or another, and Marcy would test each direction before pointing at one for Anne to follow. Together they progressed through the caverns until the crystals grew few and far between, at which point Marcy pulled out her mushroom flashlight and they followed the current out. Miraculously they found her missing shoe, caught on a rock at a split in the river. Anne slipped it on and triple knotted it to her foot. 

Finally sunlight could be seen at the end of the tunnel. When they got to the edge of the beach. There was some awkward waiting time, waiting for the potion to end so they could get up and out onto the river bank without suffocating. When the potion did wear off they both heaved themselves out, hacking up river water until they could breathe normally again. 

Exhausted, they both laid on the river bank for a while to recover. "That… was so cool! Everything down there was shining up like a real honest to god fantasy dungeon." Marcy squealed. "I even got to grab a couple to study later, I wonder if I can get some glow stone moss to grow at home." Marcy theorized, "Didn't you think so Anne?" Marcy turned expectantly. 

Anne had to admit, despite the bruises that were definitely going to make their upcoming community service twice as excruciating, the glowstone tunnel had been breathtaking. She hadn't really taken it into consideration, but Amphibia... really was quite beautiful. She had spent so much time keeping her head down and studying with Val that she didn't fully appreciate it, but everything was so vibrant and colorful. A far cry from the concrete metropolis of steel they had come from. "It was." Anne agreed, standing and offering Marcy a hand up. "Still, I'm ready to get home." Anne said feeling a pang of homesickness.

"True." Marcy took her hand appreciatively, "speaking of, any ideas about what you're going to make tonight?" Marcy asked as she went into her bag for a pad of post-it notes and a pencil. "Oh, gotta send notes to Sprig and the others, let them know we're alright..."

As Marcy was distracted, Anne looked thoughtfully at her friend. It... had been a couple months, it wasn't too surprising that Marcy thought of the farm as a home away from home. 

Before Anne could think deeper on the subject, she was distracted by the fact that Marcy could apparently create living origami birds out of post-it notes.

---

Anne couldn't get to sleep that night. Which was a problem cause apparently their first day of community service was for Maddie's family, who ran a bakery. That meant they were getting up early to get there in time to help out. Marcy had already set an alarm and fallen asleep next to Anne, curling against her side. Marcy kept promising her that she would make a second bed for Anne, but Anne was in no hurry. She had slept better the last few nights than in the last few months. It felt like one of their sleepovers really. 

It had been a pretty tiring day, after Marcy's frog friends heard about their adventures down in the tunnel, Anne was made an official member of the World Hoppers. Fortunately the frog trio had some better luck than them, collecting a massive amount of pollen from several of the thunder blooms. Apparently Maddie had cursed Ivy and Sprig to be made of rubber for a little while to get it done. 

After which they all headed back to the Plantar farm where she had managed to work out a stew for everyone to enjoy. A congratulating pat on the back had revealed the extent of the bruising Anne had suffered in the cave, which Marcy proceeded to scold and fuss over her in equal measure. 

That pain had dulled though, and wasn't what kept her up. No, instead what kept her up was an old memory she had nearly forgotten. 

---

"Out of the way Boob-chuy," was all the warning Anne got before she was shoulder checked into some lockers. A group of older eighth grade girls snickered as they passed by, looking back to catch her reaction. Looks like nothing had changed over winter break, sixth grade was rough. 

Sasha stared daggers at them as they turned a corner and Marcy fretted over Anne, "Anne are you alright?"

"I'm good." Anne said, rubbing the arm that had collided with the locker. "What were you saying Mar-Mar?"

Marcy grinned, picking up her train of thought, "Oh, I was just saying that the etymology of some places is really funny. Like Sahara in Arabic means desert, so the Sahara Desert translates to Desert Desert." Marcy explained with a chuckle, "Or my favorite, Arctic, it comes from the Greek Arktos, which means bear. So the Arctic Circle can be translated as the Bear Circle." Marcy grinned, "and so with the prefix Ant meaning opposite, Ant-Artica is not No Bear Continent!" Anne chuckled at that, "Which is actually a funny coincidence cause there are Polar Bears around the North Pole but not the South pole! But that's not the reason they named it that! See the North Star is actually part of the Ursa Major constellation-" 

Marcy was cut off as the bell rang signaling the end of their break time. 

Marcy frowned, "Ah dang, wish… we were all still in the same classes. See you guys at lunch!" Marcy said before jogging off in the direction of her advanced English class.  

Anne waved as Marcy ran off, wincing as her friend ran headfirst into an open locker door. Marcy waved back assurances that she was alright before continuing to head to class. As much as Anne missed having Marcy in the same class, it was a little bit of a relief. They had gotten their first grades back for the finals they took before Christmas and her parents had been... less than thrilled. 'Why aren't you applying yourself?', 'Are you really trying to study?', 'Why don't you ask Marcy for help?'.  Sometimes being next to Marcy made her feel a little... dumb.

Sasha, who had been surfing through her phone since Marcy started talking, pushed herself off from the group of lockers, expecting for Anne to fall in alongside. Anne was still getting used to the new Sasha. Her and Marcy hadn't seen her much over summer break due to her family troubles. She had always been confident but she walked into sixth grade like a force of nature. Charismatic, biting and just... angry a lot of the time. She didn't want to talk about what happened exactly, all Anne had gathered was that her parents had gotten a divorse. Under it all though, Anne knew she was still the same old Sash. She was still protective of her and Marcy, and even with all her new friends hung out with them the most. 

"I don't know how you do it Anne." Sasha said with a shake of her head. 

"Do what?"  

"Just, listen to Marcy go on like that." Sasha said, gesturing back the way they came. Anne frowned, slowing down a bit. Sasha looked back, scanning Anne's reaction before smiling, "I mean, don't get me wrong I love her, but she can be a little much, you know?"

"I... guess." Anne agreed hesitantly as they arrived just outside math class. 

"Right, I was just saying I think its cool how you're so patient with her." Sasha said,  putting an Arm around Anne's shoulder, "I mean, it's not like you're really listening right?" she said, a little conspiratorially to Anne. 

Anne swallowed nervously, it wasn't entirely untrue. "N-no, I really don't get what she's saying half the time." Anne admitted. 

"See, you're such a good friend. I don't know if I would have the patience."

Anne felt a bit guilty talking behind Marcy's back, but it felt nice to share a secret with Sasha. Between Marcy sailing ahead academically and Sasha's growing popularity, Anne sometimes felt like she was being left behind. "Well, best friends forever, right?" Anne smiled, holding out her hand to begin their BFF handshake. 

Anne heard some snickers from some of their classmates as they passed them and Sasha sighed, "at least me and Mar agree about this..." she muttered under her breath. 

Anne frowned a bit, "... agree about what?"

Sasha looked at Anne like she had to break the news about her pet going away to the farm, "the whole handshake business, it's a little... grade school don't you think?"

"You don't like them?" Anne said, crestfallen, "Marcy too?" Anne said a little doubtfully

"Well, you know Mar-Mar. Conflict averse." Sasha said with a shrug, "that's why she asked me to talk to you."

"Oh... yeah I... guess it's a little childish, huh?" Anne agreed, with an awkward smile, dropping her raised hand to the side. 

"A bit, yeah. Better we just stop," The bell rang again and Sasha groaned, "ugh, math. Let's get this over with." Sasha said, pushing off the wall. 

Anne followed meekly behind wondering what else Sasha and Marcy had talked about when she wasn’t there…

Notes:

Marcy: I forced my friends to come to this world for my own selfish desire, and that was wrong
Me: Yes, good.
Marcy: Therefore any grievences I had are null and void. 
Me: no, bad! Moderation!

Man, these last two chapters have been emotionally draining. We're due for a light upbeat adventure next time alright? Promise. 

On that note, I am so freaking glad we got the Beginning of the End before this chapter came around. 

The insight into Marcy's feelings about their friend group pre-Amphibia was the final piece of the puzzle that had felt missing in my mind. Cause looking just at season 2, it seemed like Anne and Marcy were really good supportive friends to each other and Sasha was just this poison pill in their friendship. It left Anne kind of spotless in terms of of their friend group and made her character seem a little flat. Obviously Sasha still bears the lion share of the blame for things, but I love than no one was really spotless perfect friend Pre-Amphibia. 

What I love about that scene too, is that between that and Anne's attitude in season 1, both Anne and Marcy felt like the odd one out in their trio band. Which is probably exactly what Sasha wanted. 

This chapter was a lot weaker before The Beginning of the End aired, largely a rehash of some of the Marcy at the gates stuff, which I did sneak in there a bit, but having Anne need to work through a failing in her friendship was a god send for this script. 

Also for the record, do not use your own safety to force your friends to be honest with you. While fun to read about in fiction, that is super rude. 

---

Amphibia Finale

That finale was wild. I really, really liked it. I have a few misgivings plotwise, but overall it left me extremely satisfied as a viewer. While the elements it introduced will be eventually brought into the AU, things are going to be so wildly different by that point in the story, its not gonna go down the same way. 

That timeskip though. Straight through the heart. ugh. So good.

---

Anne's Power Set

Anne's Spells as they stand:

Telekinesis: Move stuff around, limited by mass. 
Illusions: Auditory and Visual
Empath Sight: Emotion and Lie detector. Makes her blind to all non living things. As for what emotions are which colors, please refer to the picture to the right. Original Chart is a part of the indie RPG The Veil.
Barriers: Discovered this chapter briefly. Pretty straightforward

These are basically all the Spells Anne is gonna have for most of this series. There will be refinement over time, some combos, but for the most part, this is gonna be her core ability set. I don't want her to have a spell save her from whatever situation she's in. 

---

Comments

Thank you as always to everyone who left comments, you are a delight to write for. Hello too to all the new readers who have left bookmarks, subs or kudos You folks are great!

@Ku Re: Grime's Fate
Grimes fate will come up, though as an character with agency or a martyr of the tower I will not spoil. 

@Ku Re: Marcy & Anne's Weapons
Right on the money with Marcy, curses, potions, and magitech is her way. For Anne, I've been thinking it over for a while, and think I have something cool which we'll see next chapter. It is Magic primarily, but probably not in the way you think. 

@Alivingscarf Re: Marcy, Andrias, and Flipwart
I don't think its a huge spoiler to say yes, don't know if it'll be like a scene we focus on or mentioned in passing. Probably the former, but we're pretty far off from it.

---

Alright, I am pretty burned out right at this moment, and will be having a busy week ahead. So I might call a mulligan next week. Don't know for sure, next chapter might be pretty short and won't be a problem, but if I skip next week, don't say I didn't warn you. 

Have a good one y'all. Thanks for reading. 

Chapter 17: Hiber Day

Summary:

Anne and Marcy defend the helpless townsfolk of Wartwood during the yearly hibernation

Notes:

- Content Warning -

- Marcy's Journal -

Day 72 in Amphibia,

We found some thunder bloom pollen today with the World Hoppers. Me n’ Maddie are all ready to experiment with making the battery potion. It could be a bit dangerous so I'll write the current theories for it below. 

[The following section has been decoded for the convenience of the reader. Around this section are also proposed encoded formulas and theories for the battery potion.]

Anne and I had a pretty big fight earlier. Or fight is not the right word? It wasn't like we were punching or yelling at each other. I just vented my feelings at her. I guess I expected a big fight but she apologized? and promised to do better? I don't know what I expected but it wasn't that. 

I hope she doesn't resent me... 

---

Day 76 in Amphibia,

Community service is tough. So tired after every day. Luckily I mostly help out by tinkering up stuff for folks. Anne’s cooking is always a life saver though, no big surprise. 

In less great news I can’t seem to access my magic through the same means as Anne. I do the gesture, try to think of Ram but get nowhere. Gonna keep at it, but I feel about as effectual as when I tried 

[The following section has been decoded for the convenience of the reader.]

Anne’s really been listening, just like she said she would… [A little heart was etched next to the encoded words but then erased, as if the writer realized belatedly that a heart could hint to the passage’s content.]

---

Anne walked dazedly down the dirt roads towards Wartwood. The sun wasn't even up yet and she and Marcy were partially navigating by Marcy's little mushroom flashlight. Somehow the first of their town assignments had ended up being at the bakery. Which meant that they had to be up before dawn to be of any help. Marcy's suggestion the other night that she make up some cold brew coffee was an absolute godsend. Val had kept a very different sleep schedule than the farming community, and Anne was going to have to lean on caffeine until she adjusted. 

Marcy was telling her about how she had met Maddie in her first days with the Plantars. About their misadventures growing hair on a tree and getting Marcy possessed by an evil spirit. Anne could tell that Marcy was truncating some of the technical aspects out of 'consideration' for her. Holding herself back. It stung a little, but there was nothing for it. Anne accepted she would need to build up that trust between them again. Anne was able to pry out a few details with some insightful questions and was rewarded with a glimpse of the Marcy she'd almost lost.

Before long they arrived at the bakery, a large stump with a giant novelty rolling pin on the top acting as a sign. Mr. Flour, who was pretty big for a frog, stood at the doorway as they arrived. Anne stretched out her arms and readied herself to take on the work of the day. 

He waved with a smile as they approached, "Morning Marcy..." he looked more skeptically at Anne. 

"Anne." she offered helpfully.

He nodded in a reluctant greeting, "Right. Well, hope you're both ready to do some work, we got plenty of bread to make for the market today." He turned around and headed in. 

It was pretty hard work, all things considered. Marcy and Anne were put in charge of kneading the dough - or least at first. After the first tray of buns, Marcy's arms were about ready to fall off. Ultimately she offered to build a stand mixer for the bakery in place of physical labor. Mr. Flour seemed fine with it, which left him and Anne to be in charge of the kneading process.

Anne briefly brought up her empath sight to check in on Marcy and was happy to find her putting out a lime green aura of stimulated enjoyment. Anne dropped the spell quickly and returned to working.

Maddie came down with a backpack overflowing with herbs giving an earnest greeting to Marcy and Anne. She asked her dad if Marcy could join her in witchcraft as part of her community service, but Aldor shut that down, a leniency too far for his liking. She didn't press the issue and hurried off, not wanting to waste her day off dilly dallying at home. 

There was an awkward silence in the air with the only sound being the thudding of dough on the counter top, occasionally interspersed by Marcy's tinkering in the living room in the home side of the bakery. Eventually Anne couldn't take it anymore and spoke up, "So, the sign said Flour and daughters bakery." 

"Mhmm." he responded with a nod. 

"That was Maddie right? Your oldest?" Aldor looked at her suspiciously, "Marcy introduced us yesterday." Anne explained.

Aldor nodded, "Yeah... she was our first." Mr. Flour agreed reluctantly, "really I'm glad for her you know. Marcy I mean." he nodded towards Anne's favorite dork in the living room, "Maddie was having trouble making friends." he confided in gruff frustration. 

"Really? Why's that?" Anne asked curiously. 

That opened the floodgates. Starting with some very strong opinions about some of the kids in town and how they treated Maddie, he soon followed it up with gushing about the triplets and how well they were growing. Legs should be coming in a season or two, which while excited for them, he was worried about handling all three of them being fully mobile. Apparently Maddie had been a bit of a danger magnet when she first figured out how to walk. Anne commiserated, recounting a babysitting job that had become significantly more stressful after the youngest figured out how to run and climb. 

Eventually they winded up talking about how he became a baker. Family business, natch. As the first rolls were gone, Anne couldn't help but salivate over them. She had never had fresh bread from a bakery before, and it smelled otherworldly. She started to plan out possible soups that would compliment a bread bowl dinner. She mentioned as much to Aldor who was intrigued by the concept and they got onto different foods from the human world. 

"One thing I really miss are noodles and pasta." Anne said with a little whine. "Haven't found anything like 'em in the valley."

"Noodles?" Aldor asked curiously. 

"Yeah... wait, have you never heard of them? They're delicious! You use as the base of a dish, you boil it and can mix it with all sorts of sauces..." Anne looked around thoughtfully, "you know, they are actually pretty simple, ingredients wise. And you have everything here. You want to try making a batch after we're done with the baking?"

Aldor was hesitant, but was on board by the time they finished the last batch of bread. Anne asked Marcy if she could improvise some kind of pasta maker, and of course she had no trouble making an attachment for her mixer to do the job. Soon enough, they had pounds of fresh spaghetti ready made. Anne made them all an early lunch with the noodles, Aldor was even convinced to sell them at the market that day. Intrigued by the offer of something new they sold well.

By midday when the market was wrapping up, Aldor gifted them a bag of leftover noodles to bring home, "now you two get home safe now. Thanks for all your help today"

"Have a good night Mr. Flour" Marcy waved.

"I'll bring over a jar of the pasta sauce I make tonight later this week, alright?" Anne offered. 

Anne and Marcy headed off for the Plantar farm together, Marcy explaining some of the workarounds she had made for the mixer. Like how it was crank powered for the moment but she had built a primitive motor for when the energy grid was up.

Marcy got momentarily distracted by some tree moss and Anne took the opportunity to check in with her friend. A thoughtful purple dominated her aura, but there was a... pinkish rim to it that meant something was irritating her. Anne just took note of that before dropping the spell as Marcy figured out what kind of moss it was and started to explain why she was excited about it. 

---

"Just so you know, I've counted all the silverware and cups." Felicia Sundew warned. 

Anne nodded in stern understanding. Her and Marcy's fourth day of community service ended up being at the local tea cafe. This time the home of Ivy's family. She wanted to make a good first impression, but that seemed to be an uphill battle. At least they didn't need to wake up before dawn for this one. Plus, Sprig had tagged along, hanging off of Marcy's shoulder as they talked about this or that on the way here. 

Marcy looked around for a minute before asking, "What's Ivy up to-"

"Ambush!" Anne, startled, whipped her head just in time to see a flash of yellow and blue pass by her vision. Next to her Marcy narrowly ducked out of the way while Sprig leapt from her shoulder. Sprig landed fine but Marcy ended up falling prone in the process. Ivy rolled back to her feet, nodding at the two of them proudly, "not bad. gonna have to stop warning you at this rate." Marcy grinned at the praise as Anne helped her back to her feet. Ivy looked at her mom, "I can head out right?" Felicia nodded and Ivy grabbed Sprigs hand excitedly, "come on Sprig, I found this weird lake that I think there's treasure at the bottom of."

"Awesome!" Sprig returned the excitement full force. He turned to wave at them as he was dragged off by Ivy, "See you guys back home!" he called back before the two humans were forgotten about for the day. 

Anne watched as they retreated and leaned towards Marcy, "Are those two..."

"Dating? No, not yet, but they clearly like each other right?" Marcy said with a conspiratorial grin. 

"Oh totally," Anne nodded, "Ah, that's so cute!"

"Girls?" a patient tone drew both of their attentions back to Felicia, "we got to get ready for the morning rush." she explained, gesturing for them both to come inside. 

Anne was put in charge of serving for the day while Marcy handled the brewing in the back. Marcy set up a process of boiling, setting, and timers that made Anne a little dizzy trying to keep track of. Judging by the serene purple around Marcy, it definitely worked for her. 

Between the two of them, they managed to work like a machine through the morning rush of frogs. A number of the customers were a bit wary of Anne, but she had more than enough experience dealing with entitled customers from helping her parents at Thai Go. 

It was around 11:30 when things finally slowed down. For the moment most of the customers had left. Most being the key word here. 

"Another lovely morning of tea Felicia." a green newt said, dressed like a revolutionary. He had taken over a corner table early in the morning and had quite a few refills. "Honestly I don't know how you do it." 

"Yes Albus," Felicia said, clearly doing her best to give him nothing to work with conversationally. 

"Really, it's almost as good as the stuff they serve out in Newtopia," he said, clearly in a way that showed he meant it as a compliment. "I grew up out there you know."

Felicia maintained her customer service mask, taking a slow patient breath through her nose. "You don't say?"

"Haha, yeah. This place really gets me through the week. Whelp, see you this afternoon," he said, doffing his hat before leaving. Felicia closed the door behind him with force and sagged a little. 

"Overly friendly customers, huh?" Anne said with a sympathetic tone, leaning on her broom. "can't stand to serve ‘em, can't stay in business without’ em."

"Personal experience?" Felicia asked, despite her initial disposition, Anne had done good work as a server. 

"Yep," Anne nodded, "this one guy’s been coming to my parents restaurant for years. " Anne reminisced, "Ned, he's nice enough and all, but sometimes he acts like a partial owner or something?" Anne said, "giving unsolicited suggestions for how we could improve the seating or décor. Used to drive mom up the wall." 

"Well that at least seems well meaning. Albus can't help but backhand compliment me in every interaction." Felicia shook her head as the two of them started commiserating over their respective experiences in the service industries. Felicia expounded on how she came back to Wartwood after traveling the world; and Anne shared how her parents were immigrants themselves, bringing their food and recipes from abroad. 

"So, did your restaurant serve tea?" Felicia asked, preparing pastries for the afternoon rush. 

"Sure did, but my favorite was the Thai Iced Tea." Anne puffed her chest out proudly. "It was kind of my specialty." she had been in charge of ice tea back when her parents wanted to help out but didn't trust her behind the stove yet. 

"You served tea on ice?" Felicia said, scandalized. "That must have been expensive." 

"You've never tried it!? Why would it be expensive?" 

"Ice was pretty rare back in the day Anna Banana," Marcy offered, hanging out the window where she handed out teapots. "Getting ice meant hauling it down from the mountains or paying someone to do so."

Anne tapped her chin. "Then where do the Plantars get their ice from?" Marcy had shown Anne the icebox she had invented to preserve food in the Plantar household. 

"Shelf Stable Ice!" Marcy said proudly. "I made a potion that when exposed to oxygen at room temp will freeze to ice."

Yeah, that tracked, "do you have any on you?"

"Actually I have an experimental version I've been working on. Instead of freezing itself, it should freeze a fairly large basin of water it’s poured into."

"Nice!" Anne turned back to Felicia, "what do you say, you got to try it at least once."

Felicia, curious, agreed to the experiment. Marcy poured the potion into a water basin, and then rapidly stirred. She narrowly managed to pull the frosty spoon out before the entire basin of water froze into a single icy whole. A little chiseling later, some honey and fresh tea, Anne shared the glory that was Thai iced tea with Felicia and Marcy. After the next wave of customers caught wind of it, they had managed to work through the entirety of that basin of ice by the time Anne and Marcy were dismissed for the day, much to Felicia’s delight. 

Ivy and Sprig arrived back, covered in bug bites at around closing. Felicia wished both of them a good night before taking Ivy in to treat the bug bites. 

Sprig insisted he was fine but was letting out an, "Ow," every two or three steps on the way home and Marcy stopped them to treat the bites. While Marcy and Sprig worked out what exactly bit him, Anne did a quick check. As she guessed there was a soft purple nurturing aura, but that same dingy pink clung onto the edges. 

---

"You sure you don't want us to stay for the end of shift Stumpy?" Anne offered with a smile.

The titular toad of the diner shook his head good naturedly. "No no, you two have done plenty, the dinner rush is over. Ha! Dinner rush! it's been a while since I've had one of those." his jovial tone was quite different from when they first arrived. He had been about as welcoming as their previous assignments, but at least this time it seemed born from a general surliness rather than a distaste for Anne specifically. "Between Marcy fixing up half of my broken equipment, and you retrofitting the menu. This place is more popular than it's ever been." 

"Yep, burgers and fries are a classic." Anne said with a grin. Turns out burgers traveled anywhere, even if they were made with ground up bug meat. 

"In any case, you've earned the rest of the night off." he said with a nod, calls for more drinks pulled him back to his customers. 

Anne started to move off with Marcy out through town. The sun had set, but fortunately Marcy had managed to borrow Bessie for the day, since Hop Pop now had a mayoral snail to take himself around. Before heading back they parked Bessie on a hillside and dug into their 'staff meals' that Stumpy had gifted them.

Anne was pretty proud of the dipping sauce she had crafted for the burgers. It wasn't going to win any awards on earth, but after two months of campfire cooking with Val, it was welcome. Partway through her own bug burger, Anne noticed that Marcy was lost in her thoughts, "something wrong with the food?" Anne asked curious, "you get a cricket leg in yours?" 

Marcy shook out of her thoughts and smiled at Anne, "I did, but I actually like those." she said with a shrug biting into her burger with a crunch.

At nothing else forthcoming, Anne asked, "copper for your thoughts?" she bumped her friend in the shoulder with her own. 

"Sorry, just thinking over the kitchen setup we left for Stumpy." The oil trainer should work, but if he's not careful that could be one heck of a grease fire.  Anne listened intently as Marcy explained how she had set up Stumpies kitchen. Once they were all ready to head back with a box of fries to share with the Plantars, Anne sat behind Marcy and cast empath sight. Most of her aura was a purple serene, but with a dingy red still hovering about, to Anne’s concern

---

Marcy led Anne just down the road towards Mrs. Croaker's homestead next door.

"So what are we doing today?" Anne asked, stretching out a bit. After a week and a half, she was used to getting up earlier, but that didn't mean she liked it. "We're working with... caterpillars?"

" Cow apillars." Marcy gently corrected.

"That's funny, sounds like cow-apillar." Anne chuckled, then her look got skeptical, "wait... we get our milk and butter from Mrs. Croaker, right?"

"Mmhm." Marcy confirmed.

"... Marcy, please don't tell me that I've been cooking with and drinking weird bug milk." she walked slightly ahead of Marcy so to make sustained eye contact.

Marcy avoided her gaze, "okay..." she said with a shrug, "I won't tell you that."

"Marcy!" Anne's face curdled in revulsion, "ugh, gross!"

"Oh come on," Marcy said lightly, "you didn't even notice the difference."

"What if I get a taste for it Marcy?" Anne countered, as if this was the most serious thing in the world. "What if we go back and I’m eating something and think to myself, 'Man this is all right, but I wish it was fried in bug butter .'"

Marcy chuckled, rolling her eyes as they turned into the gate towards Mrs. Croaker’s house, the old frog was waiting on her porch for the both of them with a skeptical expression. “Morning girls, I’ve got plenty to keep you busy.” Mrs. Croaker said with a wicked grin. However, before Anne or Marcy could respond, she looked past them with a concerned expression. Marcy turned to see what she was looking at. Racing up in Bessie was Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly. "Mayor, I hope you're not here to say these two are off the hook," Mrs. Croaker asked with a little suspicion. 

"Fraid' so, Sadie, they'll have to come back here in a day or two." he said with a regretful voice. "Sprig?"

"It's happening Mrs. Croaker!" Sprig said alarmed, holding up a frog shaped thermometer, 

"Ah... unfortunate. It’s so late this year. I had hoped we had hit a skip year. Well, possible final goodbye to all of you!" Mrs. Croaker said, waving dismissively. 

"Well actually, that might not be necessary. Maybe not this year." Hop Pop said with a proud nod in Marcy's direction. 

“I’ve got a plan” Marcy nodded, heading back to sit up on the wooden bench, grabbing Polly so there was enough room for Anne. 

"Well, it's probably better than just waiting for someone to die I suppose." Mrs Croaker said noncommittally 

As they all rounded back out of Mrs. Croaker’s homestead, Anne asked,"So, not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but what exactly is going on?" 

"Hiber Day," Hop Pop answered gravely. 

"Once a year the valley gets so cold that all the amphibians suffer from instant hibernation." Marcy snapped to emphasize the suddenness. "usually it's a time for them to become rejuvenated and fresh for the rest of the season."

"buuuut?" Anne prompted.

"Someone goes missing every year, never to be seen or heard from again," Sprig explained. 

"There's the twist." Anne said with a nod, "alright, but you have a plan Mar-Mar?" Anne asked with a knowing smile. 

"Of course," Marcy said without modesty, "It's a good thing it came late this year or else my preparations might not be ready."

Riding on the back of Bessie, they soon arrived in town where everyone was gathering. Sprig let off a siren-like alarm to gather their attention. Folks from around town were gathering in town square, looking distressed.

"What's going on?"

"Are we under attack?"

"I was in the middle of breakfast..."

"Everyone!" Sprig called, holding up the little froggy thermometer, "for the third day in a row the temperature has dipped below the frogline!" a gasp went through the crowd, everyone already accepting their fate. Turning to loved ones to wish them a possible final farewell. 

"However!" Hop Pop announced in his mayoral tone, "with some forward planning, we have a plan so that this year, we might not lose anyone!"

A murmur traveled through the crowd. Mrs. Croaker, still mounted on her giant ladybug, broke the silence, "Alright Hopediah, what did your human come up with this time."

"Well, first off," Marcy said, stepping forward, "me and Anne are mammals, which are warm-blooded-” 

A few curdled faces appeared in the crowd at the term, “disgusting” one frog said in revolution.

Marcy rolled her eyes and continued, “-which means that we won't freeze when the snow comes!" Marcy explained, "so step one is that we'll keep an eye out on everyone." There were some nods, clearly hopeful, "second! the panic cellar!" Marcy announced and walked towards the town statue, A pair of double doors that were far newer than most of town were laid slanted in the ground. Marcy threw one open to give everyone a look down, "with support from Hop Pop, we made this lightly reinforced cellar where we'll keep everyone inside of. We'll lock up the cellar to keep any wild creatures out and everyone in one place. Tomorrow, when everyone thaws out we'll open it up and everyone should be safe. "

There were some nods as Felicia spoke up, hope in her voice, "so this is full proof then? We're not losing anyone?"

"Oh, certainly not full proof," Marcy admitted without hesitation. At everyone's worried faces she shrugged, "I'm working with limited information here. No one's seen whatever's been taking people." Marcy explained, "if this is some supernatural nonsense for instance? Yeah, this isn't going to help." she said with a  shake of her head, "However! In the most likely case that this is some beast, or amphibian in a fur coat, then it should keep everyone safe."

"Not bad."

"Better than nothing."

"The brutal honesty makes me more confident in the plan, actually."

Hop Pop took center stage again, "alright everyone, we should get ready for tonight, go on home and make sure all your fires are out and such before tonight. We'll meet back here so the humans can watch over us." Marcy took out her journal to sift through her name list in preparation but paused when most of the crowd failed to disperse. 

One of the frogs, Jeremy, if Marcy wasn't mistaken, stepped forward, "so that one's just going to be allowed to move freely about?" he pointed at Anne. "While we're all frozen she'll just have the run of the town?"

There were murmurs of agreement as distrustful eyes started to turn on Anne. Anne frowned, shrinking back. 

"-be able to sift through everyone's belongings..." 

"... rob the town blind..."

Wally stepped forward, "I say we lock her down in the cellar with the rest of us!" Nods of agreement started to circulate. 

"Hey, I promise I won't-" Anne tried to speak but was shouted down by the mob who stared daggers at Anne. However, not everyone felt the same, as some of the residents who Anne and Marcy had helped started to line up beside them with the Plantars.

An argument started to break out with Hop Pop trying to keep each side civil. 

Marcy stepped next to Hop Pop, putting finger and thumb to her mouth and letting out an ear splitting whistle, silencing the crowd. Marcy took a steadying breath, staring them all down stubbornly, "hey, no one is locking my friend in a cellar." she stated it with confidence even though her hands shook. To disguise that, she put a hand on Anne's shoulder. "I know she made a mistake, but she's making up for it now. You can’t-"

"Big surprise, one monster supporting another." Wally said with his hands on his hips. "This must have been your plan all along! Worm your way in, get everybody's trust, then make off with everyone's stuff!" 

To Marcy's dismay she saw a few faces in the crowd grow suspicious of her as well, but she pushed on. "Listen, Anne is one of the kindest, most protective people I know." seeing everyone staring at her was making her nervous so she closed her eyes, "she's saved my life plenty of times, a few in the last few weeks."

"Marce?" Anne nudged her. 

"She could be invaluable for defending everyone-"

"Mar-Mar." Anne said insistently.

She opened her eyes and looked back to her friend, "Anne I'm trying to-"

 Anne pointed back towards the crowd. 

Marcy looked over and found that every frog gathered around them had been frozen in a large chunk of ice. Frozen in either sympathy or hostility towards the humans. To Marcy's delight there were a whole lot more of the former than the latter, or at least more conflicted than actively hostile. Marcy reached out and poked at Wally, accusatory finger pointing towards her, mouth parted in spluttering accusation. Solid ice. "Huh... you know when they said, 'instant hibernation' I thought it would sill be a process you know?"

It was around that moment when about 6 inches of snow fell from the sky and buried Marcy beneath it. She tried to struggle against the mass of white powder, but made little headway, "little help?" she requested, hand waving.  She felt Anne's hands grab hers and haul her up through the ice. "Thanks Anne," they spent a moment dusting all the snow off of her. 

"No prob..." Anne smiled warmly at Marcy, "thanks for sticking up for me."

Marcy looked away, shrugging, "it wasn't a big deal, worse came to worse I was just going to let you out after everyone froze, then we'd put you back before everyone-." Before Marcy could move on she felt Anne pull her in for a hug “-thawed”. She smiled, hugging back, grateful to have the cool air to blame for the blush, "your welcome..." Marcy nodded. "Okay, let's get everyone inside the cellar, do a headcount, and lock it up." she said and felt herself shivering.

"After we get-"

"After we get something warm on," she nodded in agreement. 

After retrieving some warm weather clothes from home they gathered everyone and started to move them into the cellar. Marcy had slightly miscalculated the cellars size to fit everyone comfortably, what with them all being encased in ice. But with a little stacking they were able to make due. Funny coincidence how everyone who was arguing for Anne's imprisonment ended up being in the stacked section near the back. 

"Aw, Marcy, look at these two!" Marcy turned to see Anne pushing ahead the town's two newest toad residents, Percy and Braddock, holding each other protectively. Marcy had gotten Percy work as a construction worker while Braddock helped organize of the militia. She had given both a wide berth considering all that happened, but she still bristled a bit. Remembering Toad Tower and what Braddock had done to Anne. "Woah, Mar-Mar, you alright?"

Marcy shook out realizing she had been scowling at the two toads, "sorry, just lost in thought, let me help you with them." Marcy reached down and grabbed the bottom part of the toads to move them down into the cellar.   

After doing a headcount of everyone there, Marcy and Anne went up the stairs and Marcy looked down to where the Plantars sat frozen, "See you guys soon..." With that they closed the cellar and bared it with chains then set up a series of bell alarms around the entrance. "Alright, that should keep everyone relatively secure, now what should we-"

"Snowball fight!" was the only warning Marcy got before being pelted in the back by a snowball. 

Marcy grinned, packing a snowball, turning and returning fire. Anne with a smug expression caught it with a spell and threw it back at Marcy's face, this one knocked Marcy on her butt. She looked up indignantly at Anne, "Hey! no magic or I'm busting out the curses!" She threatened playfully as she scrambled for cover. 

Being from LA they didn't have a lot of snow experience, but they had plenty of inspiration from cheesy holiday movies and cartoon specials. After the snowball fight, they made snow angels, built snowmen and snow frogs, and ate snow cones. Once they both fell back exhausted from running about in the snow, Marcy grinned, "man, that was amazing! We might have skipped lunch. Any ideas for dinner?"

Anne popped out her phone and clicked it on. "Well, good news is we didn't miss lunch." she said, flashing the phone over to Marcy, it read '12:32'

"Huh." Marcy said, knitting her eyebrows together, not as much time had passed as she thought. "Hey you want to test the limits of your new spell? We've been too busy to really test it out." 

Anne smiled at that, nodding, and hopped up and out of the snow. 

What followed was Marcy's favorite activity, magical study! They took it slow, taking plenty of breaks so that Anne wouldn't become exhausted. While they made the following discoveries. 

-The barrier does not need to be around Anne, it can be put around objects or other people. 

-It can be made stationary or affixed to a person or object and moved with that person/object. This must be decided when it is cast (Theory: 'Stationary Barriers' might be affixed relative to the planet.)

-The barrier cannot be moved/reassigned once affixed, only unsummoned and recast. 

-Maintaining barriers is more strenuous than casting them.  The larger the barrier the more difficult it is to do either. 

-Solids/Liquids cannot go through the barrier. Gasses seem to be dependent on the will of the caster. Air seems to go in fine but smoke is kept out.

Marcy also made a little note about magic might burn calories with how rejuvenated Anne seemed to be after their lunch. 

"So, anything left to test?" Anne asked curiously

Marcy hummed to herself, "hm... we've seen a bunch of those bubble barriers. Can you shape them into anything else?"

Anne thought for a moment before adopting her gesture and pulling back towards herself. A small blue spectral barrier popped up as a flat wall instead of a bubble. Anne's eyes lit up in imagination, "bet I can make a magic snowboard!" Anne said and like that they went scrambling up the nearest hill to test it out. Anne was quickly able to figure out how to affix a board to her feet and go riding down the hill like a natural. Marcy watched from the top, taking in the sight and taking notes. 

After the third trip down or so, Anne rushed up to Marcy, "want a turn Mar-Mar?" She walked behind Marcy and looked over her shoulder at Marcy's journal.

Marcy shook her head, "please, if I wanted to crash in the snow I can just hurl myself down this hill- ah!" Marcy was startled out of her sarcasm as Anne wrapped her hands around Marcy's waist from behind. Anne fell back landing both of them in the snow, "Anne what are you-" suddenly a blue spectral sled appeared beneath the two of them.

"Hold on tight," Anne warned as she pushed them off and down the hill. 

Marcy, panicked, dropped her journal in her lap and reached out and grabbed the rim of the sled Anne had summoned. However, as gravity shifted and Marcy felt the cool air rush through her hair, an involuntary peel of laughter escape her throat. She leaned back into Anne's embrace, and who in turn held Marcy tight as she was her only anchor on the sled. They slid straight down into the streets of Wartwood, banking around the shops and marketplace and skittering across the frozen river in the heart of town. Marcy and Anne screamed and hollered as they headed towards a slight ramp made of the construction materials. 

They took off on the ramp and exhilaration turned to fear as about midway through their arc was when Anne lost concentration on her spell. "oh no." Anne said before wrapping her arms tighter around Marcy as they both braced for impact. The fresh snow mercifully softened their landing. They tumbled through the snow together falling ass over end through the snow until momentum finally had mercy and let them stop. Anne finally let go and they both laughed, the crisp air filling their lungs, "you okay Marcy?"

Marcy spoke between gasping laughs, "that was amazing! The snow is great!" she pumped her hands up in the air. Marcy suddenly shot up, looking to Anne, "I think we could go faster if you put rails-" Marcy paused as she spotted the subtle blue aura in Anne's eyes. "on the bottom...?"

The glow disappeared quickly, but what was not so quick to dissipate was the anxious look on Anne’s face, "oh, like on the bottom of the sled? I think I've seen ones like that before." she said quickly, trying to distract Marcy with little success.

"... Anne, why were you reading my aura?" Marcy asked slowly. 

"Well, I just wanted to see how you were feeling and-"

"I was laughing Anne, I think it was pretty obvious... have you been secretly checking my emotions?" Marcy said, feeling outrage and embarrassment rise in her chest. 

Before Anne could come up with some kind of excuse the soft tinkling of bells sounded through the empty snowy town. Marcy made eye contact with Anne who nodded seriously and they both started to stealthily make their way back towards the center of town. 

They snuck in the back door to one of the shops and made their way to peek out the store's front window. Beneath the statue of the founder of Wartwood a giant weasel was snooping about, sniffing and searching for its yearly prey of frozen frog. It had a white and tan winter coat and beady red eyes. 

"That's a big weasel..." Anne whispered looking out at town square. 

"I can't believe you were spying on my emotions." Marcy whispered bitingly, trying to come up with a plan. She had some magic that might help them with the weasel but it was all left at the top of the hill. Would probably be too slow to get there and return. 

"Do you really feel like this is the best time?" Anne countered.

"Hmm, I don't know," Marcy rubbed her chin, " do I feel that way? As an expert, what's your opinion?" Marcy scanned the landscape for something they could use. Though she were momentarily distracted by the screeching sound of the weasel as it homed in on the cellar door.

"Marcy, focus, your frog family is in danger. Be angry with me later," Anne scolded more in hope than actual judgement.

"I can multitask," Marcy countered, and spotted just what she was looking for. "Up there, the ballista." Marcy pointed up towards Town Hollow. Atop the building an emplacement held a ballista, an idea imported from Marcy’s trip to Bog Bottom. 

The two of them stalked around the main square as the weasel started to paw at the hatch with increasing frustration. Marcy's foot fell through the snow and snapped a buried twig. Before the weasel could whirl around in their direction Anne pushed her to the ground behind one of the statues by the town hollow. The weasel came over to investigate, for a few steps, nose smelling at the wind. However, whether the chill wind made them harder to smell, or the smell of humans were too unknown to be appealing, the weasel turned away going back to paw at the cellar door. 

Anne and Marcy let out a soft sigh of relief and scrambled inside the town hall. Inside was a mess of in progress construction. The lower floors were being renovated into a garrison for the militia. "this way." Marcy made a gesture and started towards the stairs, but part way up sensed Anne's hesitation behind her. "Anne?"

"Is there... no other way?" she asked hesitantly, "to deal with the weasel, I mean? Can't we just drive it off? Oh, or feed it something else!"

"Anne, it's a giant carnivore, it's eaten someone in town once a year every year for so long that Wartwood had traditions for it." Marcy reasoned, "even if we put it off this year-" Marcy stopped as she saw how squeamish Anne looked. Marcy smiled sadly despite herself, "Hey, it's okay." She said in a gentle voice, "I'll go up, you can stay here, alright? My plan, my responsibility." She wasn't about to force Anne to kill something. Marcy could handle that burden. 

Anne looked unsatisfied with the offer, but Marcy couldn't waste anymore time waiting. The chains on the cellar door might hold, but the door itself was just wood. Marcy rushed up the stairs, keeping two eyes squarely on her feet. She opened the new trap door installed on the roof and started off towards the scaffolding at the front of the building.

Once she got to the emplacement, Marcy looked down into town square and saw that the giant weasel had made more headway on the cellar, one of the wooden boards having already been pried up. 

Marcy went to work on loading the ballista, fortunately it was meant to be frog operated, so her relatively lacking human strength was enough to crank the giant crossbow. She felt a low thrum of panic as she heard the squeal of metal nails being loosened by an angry hungry weasel. Her brain, unwanted, calculated how many boards the beast would need to remove before it could slither inside and take a townsperson. It wouldn't be many, weasels were more fur than muscle and could fit into small holes fairly easily. 

She felt the clunk as the bowstring became fully taught and then scrambled for one of the spear sized bolts the ballista was made for. 

"Hey you big long jerk!" Marcy almost dropped the ammo hearing Anne's voice call out. She looked down into the townsquare and saw Anne yelling at the creature. It had nearly pried off another board. it hissed violently at Anne and dived towards her. Marcy almost screamed as the jaws of the weasel stretched to swallow Anne whole, but saw the illusion turn to shreds to the creature's confusion and Marcy’s relief. It started to look around confused. Marcy looked over the lip of the roof and saw Anne crouched behind one of the statues, casting the illusions. It didn't take long for the weasel to sniff out Anne’s from her hiding spot. "Uh oh..." Anne started to run from the creature. 

Marcy returned to her siege weapon and loaded the ballista bolt and heaved it up to aim. She tried to push and pull it to line up, however the weasel ducked and dived nimbly through the snow around Anne. Anne was doing her best, briefly popping up shields and diving out of the way of danger, but that meant that one wrong shot and Marcy would almost certainly kill her. But if she missed there was no way she would have time to load another shot. If she kept hesitating-

The weasel opened its jaw wide and Anne summoned up a bubble around her, the strain of the constant casting starting to show in her sluggish movements. The weasel bucked and weaved around the bubble striking it from this side and that, making it impossible to get a clear shot.

Marcy desperately adopted the gesture that Anne did for her own magic, trying to summon something, anything to help. When nothing happened she slammed her fist on the top of the ballista before bringing it to bear again. Even if it did work, what would Ram do? Let her plan some more? She had a plan, what she needed was a clean shot. 

Marcy watched as Anne fell to one knee looking dizzy, her barrier flickering as she tried to maintain it, and for a moment, Marcy felt herself panic.

Then everything shifted. She wasn't panicking anymore.

The town laid out below her turned to blacks and dark grays, details like roofing tiles and wood grain turning to simple obstacles, obstructions to her ballista, though even then she could tell the difference between the unyielding oak and the shatter-able glass. She instinctively knew the distance of every object down to millimeters just by the ever so slight difference in shading. 

In her hands the ballista was bright whites and grays. An Asset, rendered in absolute detail, she knew the amount of newtons of force the taut bowstring contained. How much of that force would be passed onto the bolt. Then further how much would be robbed by the ever so slight friction of the bolt traveling across the wooden groove. Based on all that she could judge exactly where the bolt would land based on any angle she chose to shift the weapon. 

Only three things were rendered in any color. 

The first was the weasel, rendered in a simplified yellow wire frame. Before this moment Marcy could tell you that on Earth this would be a member of the mustelidae family. That it was a carnivore and typically hunted at night, a nocturnal animal. She could tell you that they were capable of fighting and killing prey larger than itself and were naturally talented burrowers. She might even excitedly tell a willing ear about mustelification, the evolutionary theory that most carnivores eventually evolve to have short legs, slender bodies, and triangular necks. 

At this moment she could only tell you that this was The Enemy.

The second thing was the bunker, rendered in a dark green. She couldn't recall that it was filled with the frogs of Wartwood. With the Flours and Sundews, the first people outside of her family she connected with. With Hop Pop, her parental figure and comrade in agriculture and literature. With Polly, her aloof but caring little sister who was endlessly fascinated by the tinkering that Marcy had brought into her life. With Sprig, the little brother who had protected and befriended her within moments of their first meeting. Who welcomed her into his home and family without a second thought. Who didn't always understand his older sister's thoughts or plans, but was always eager to help however he could. 

All of that boiled down to the cellar being something to Defend against the Enemy.

Finally the last thing was Anne, rendered in a lighter green wireframe. Anne, who first befriended her in kindergarten and helped Marcy find her voice. Anne who came to feel like home to Marcy, who looked out for her without asking for anything in return. Her best friend who she betrayed and kidnapped from her own home cause Marcy couldn't bear losing her. Her first love who despite every complication Marcy still couldn't shake her feelings for. 

Which meant of course that she was an Ally. One currently in need of aid. 

Marcy felt nothing at all at that moment, every part of the world simplified into what was relevant. This was the world Marcy occupied for the second and a half it took her to adjust her aim and fire center mass into her enemy. 

Then in a flash everything returned to normal. 

The weasel screeched in pain as the bolt sent it hurtling back through the snow. It fled but Marcy couldn't see which way because her legs gave out from under her. She kept her body upright only by gripping the ballista's controls. Marcy felt a deep existential chill deep in her bones. For a moment, she existed in a reality that felt so hollow. Empty of anything she loved. Marcy felt tears well up in her eyes, her chest shook as her breathing became unsteady.

"Marcy?" Anne's voice called up, "you okay?" she paused for a moment before asking, "do giant crossbows have kickback?"

Marcy crushed down the fear she felt and held up a hand, waving down, "j-just fine!" she called back, "be down in a second." Distracted, she took two steps from the emplacement on shaky legs and onto a roof tile, slick with ice. She slipped and almost fell, sending shingles down, but barely managed to keep herself from falling off the roof. 

"Marcy!?" Anne called, worried.

"Still fine!" Marcy called back. 

More carefully she made her way downstairs and outside to Anne. Anne looked haggard but otherwise safe. The beast was gone for the moment, a trail of clear tracks and blood marking its heading.

"Thanks for the save, Marcy." she said appreciatively if a little shaken. Likely from the beast getting shot than from her own life being in danger. 

Marcy nodded, unconsciously frowning. "Yeah, of course. Glad you're safe." she said, genuinely. She walked over to where the fight had been. "We better go after it." 

"Are you sure?" Anne asked gently, "couldn't we just... let it go?" she held out her hands pleadingly. 

Marcy looked back at her sympathetically, "Anne... I almost certainly hit something vital. If it doesn't die quickly then it will die slowly and..." Marcy took a sympathetic breath. "It would be kinder to put it down." 

Anne frowned, clearly upset but nodded, following after Marcy. The trail was easy to follow in the fresh snow, and they made a short detour for Marcy's shoulder bag. There was a grim silence as they made their way through the woods, Marcy in the lead. 

"Are you still mad?" Anne asked from behind her. 

For a moment Marcy was lost, but then remembered what had happened just before the weasel showed up. She glanced back swiftly, half expecting Anne's eyes to be sapphires, but they were their normal chocolate brown. Not paying attention to where she was going Marcy almost slipped in the snow, but caught herself, waving off Anne's fretting. She hadn't been when Anne asked, but now... "Yeah, a bit," Marcy admitted.

"Is it what's been bothering you all week?"  

"So you have been at this all week then?" Marcy asked, annoyance creeping into her voice. “With the empath sight?”

"Yeah..." Anne admitted, "so, is it?"

Marcy thought for a moment about what could have been upsetting her all week, but was coming up empty, "No Anne. I honestly can't remember anything upsetting me all week." Marcy pushed up a branch, holding it for Anne so they could cross. Anne took the lead, walking backwards to keep facing Marcy, looking at her skeptically. Marcy sighed, knowing Anne, she wasn't going to let this go. "What color was my aura?" 

Anne looked surprised that Marcy seemed genuinely ignorant and trying to figure it out, "you were a dirty pink, reds usually mean some kind of irritation or anger."

Marcy frowned, that would be concerning, she supposed. Still didn't ring any bells though, "was there any pattern? Was I always like that?" At this point curious about what Anne had seen.

"No, usually you've been thoughtful, contemplative, confident, or joyful." Anne listed off. "The pink showed up around the edges, usually after our service was done for the day. At first I thought you were annoyed with the people we helped, but you never had it when we were working" Anne said, clearly self-conscious, "I was worried I was the common demo... dena..." she snapped her fingers trying to recall the phrase.

"Denominator?" Marcy supplied and Anne nodded. They had come to a stop for the moment and Marcy closed her eyes trying to recall what she had been feeling at the time. 

"Oh, you also had it earlier, right after everyone froze."

Realization struck her and Marcy felt mortified. She took a breath, whatever Anne was thinking, it was probably worse than the truth, "Anne... I was just jealous."

Anne's eyes widened in surprise. "Of who?" Marcy stared at Anne with a deadpan expression, "of me? Why?"

The genuine confusion in Anne's voice was slightly concerning. Marcy noted it but continued, "cause you're really good with people Anne and I'm garbage at it?" Marcy spoke as if it was obvious. "In a week you've made more friends in town than I have in months."

"Marcy, I really don't think you giving yourself enough credit. The whole town was listening to you earlier-"

"They... respect me, tolerate me, sure,” she waved it off, “but the number of people I think actually like me" Marcy waggled her digits, "I think I can count on my fingers"

Anne looked kind of rocked by the confession but also skeptical. "Okay, then I think you're giving me too much credit, I mean, a good number of those townsfolk were angling to have me freeze to death in that cellar."

"Sure," Marcy conceded, "but plenty also stood up for you..." she said with a little frown. 

"And they wouldn’t for you?" Anne asked, confident she had a point, but that confidence drained at Marcy’s expression. 

Marcy’s mind drifted back to when the tax collectors came. The fear she felt for her new family, and the fear she had felt for herself. The passive fearful residents of Wartwood looking on neutrally. She held up a hand opening one finger with each name, "Only Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop, Maddie, and Ivy." Marcy saw the inevitable question forming in Anne’s expression and Marcy just shook her head warning. That whole mess was the last thing she wanted to get into right now. 

An awkward silence held between them, until Anne finally ventured "so, you didn't want me to get along with everyone?" 

"No!" Marcy said, frustration bubbling over self pity, "Of course not! I want you to be comfortable and happy here! I'm just insecure about my social skills!" Marcy hummed with frustration "That's why I didn't bring this up; you can't help being friendly, kind, and lovable!" Marcy said, exasperated, "Even if you could I wouldn't want you to! It's thanks to those things we became friends! I wouldn't trade that for anything!"

"Oh..." A confused but flattered smile appeared on Anne's face, "then why do you sound so angry?"

"Cause you've been spying on my emotional state in secret, and that's not cool, Anne!" Marcy gestured earnestly as Anne flinched away. "It's a total invasion of my privacy, a betrayal of my tru-" she bit back the word. Even annoyed as she was, she wasn't that much of a hypocrite. She took a breath to calm herself, "Anne. Why?"

Anne rubbed at her arm, looking guilty, "cause... I hurt you for a long time and didn't even realize it."

Marcy's expression softened at the words and let out a sigh, "Why didn't you talk to me?"

Anne looked up with a skeptical smile, "would you have honestly told me if something was bothering you?"

Marcy frowned, nodding "Yeah, that makes sense..." she sighed, "okay. I actually really appreciate the sentiment. It's kind of sweet." Marcy said earnestly before adopting a stern look, "but you have to understand. If I have to worry about my every passing emotion being scrutinized, I will combust from anxiety." she spoke without exaggeration. Just the idea that this has been happening for over a week now had Marcy's stomach in knots.

Anne nodded, looking down a little guiltily, "Okay, yeah... that makes sense..." she swallowed hard before adding, "... I just want to be someone you can rely on... you know?"

Marcy nodded, "I do..." after all, she didn't want this awkward barrier between them. That was partly why she bottled everything up in the first place, so Anne and Sasha wouldn't have to worry. But... Anne was worried which meant that strategy was obsolete. So she’d have to pursue a new one, "How about this." Marcy took a breath, already nervous about this offer, "If your worried, you can ask me if you can check my aura." Anne looked up searching Marcy's face, Marcy looked not able to both be vulnerable and maintain eye contact, "I'll give the okay and you can ask me questions and I'll answer honestly, though sometimes that answer will be 'I don't want to answer that'." Marcy tapped her right knuckles with her left thumb rhythmically to keep calm, "and... I'll try to be more open... it's just hard for me." 

"Okay... thank you Mar-Mar, and I'm sorry." Anne promised and out of her periphery Marcy could see Anne splay her arms out in question. Marcy nodded and smiled as Anne wrapped her in a warm bear hug. Marcy indulged in the comfort, "For the record," Anne pulled back a cheesy smile on her face, "Everyone else is missing out, I think you're lovable Mar-Mar."

Marcy felt her entire heart melt at the words. Marcy knew Anne didn't mean it romantically, but that didn't matter. Anne still wanted to be her friend. Even after seeing past her façade in the cave. After hearing how petty and jealous she could be. Seeing how she really was on the inside. Anne had seen the ugly side Marcy kept hidden... and still found her lovable.  

A bubble of relieved laughter escaped from Marcy’s throat as she rubbed an errant tear from her eye. 

Anne looked briefly surprised, expecting a more glib response to her sappy comment, but quickly recovered seeing how touched Marcy was. Smiling softly, Anne pulled her oldest friend in for another hug. 

Marcy's brain still insisted that this would all backfire. That this new burden would be the straw that broke their friendship. But as they held each other in the crisp Hiber Day air, that felt like a distant possibility.

Eventually the two separated and continued on with their grim task. Before long they found the end of the trail, leading into a cave full of frozen crystals. They entered with caution, but quickly found what they were looking for. The weasel laid on the floor, still on the frozen ground, she kneeled down feeling for a pulse. Sure enough the weasel was no more, which was a relief, she didn't want to have to kill it right in front of Anne. She stood back up "Alright... let's head back, this weasel might not have been the only danger to the townsfolk." 

"Marcy?" Anne's voice was high pitched and emotional. Marcy turned to see Anne had pulled back some kind of mossy curtain in the back of the cave. Marcy came up beside Anne and looked inside. 

There was a little nest occupied by three little pink baby weasels who had no fur coat yet. Two slept peacefully while a third sniffled at the air looking about blindly. It mewed softly at them and Marcy felt her heart sink with guilt. Knowing the fate of the babies without aid.

Anne's voice hitched as she spoke, "We-e-e killed their mo-o-om," Anne fell to her knees drawing the awake baby weasel into her arms, "she-he-he- was just trying to- to feed them," she wailed. Tears were falling freely down her face. The little weasel seemed confused but didn't try get away from Anne’s grasp, instead sniffing at Anne's face. Anne looked up at Marcy through wet eyes, "Wh-what do we do?"

Marcy bit her lip, "I mean... Anne their carnivores, they literally eat people. They almost ate you today." Anne sniffed back snot as she continued to cry. "Even if we could convince everyone- the amount of meat they would need to be healthy..." Marcy tried again, but felt like a monster under Anne's desperate guilt riddled gaze. She couldn't do it. She couldn't say it, "but... I might have something that could work," she offered weakly 

A hopeful smile came to Anne's face and she looked back down at the baby weasel that was licking at her. "Do you hear that little guy? M-Marcy is the smartest person I know. Sh-she'll make sure you an-and your siblings are alright!" Anne promised. "You're going to be okay!"

"Yep!" Marcy confirmed, "Okay, Anne, I need you to go back to town and get a handcart and as many blankets and sheets that you can find so we can transport these little guys. I'll stay here and keep an eye on them." Marcy promised. 

Anne got up, promising the baby weasels she'd be back soon and rushed out from the cave. 

As soon as she was gone Marcy fished out her phone and navigated to her photo album. She started desperately flicking through over a hundred pictures she had taken of Maddie's grimoire for some kind of solution. 

---

Anne patted the little baby weasel as she finally managed to put the last one to sleep, tucking it into the nest of blankets and pillows they had built in the handcart. "Good night little weasels." Anne whispered, standing up and stretching out. It hadn't been easy relocating, feeding, and then putting the baby weasels to sleep. Especially since Anne had mostly had to do it all herself. 

Ever since they got them back to town Marcy has been running herself ragged. Trying to get all the stuff she needed for her magical solution to the practical problems of bringing in giant carnivores into Wartwood.

"How's it going Marcy?" Anne approached the campfire and threw another log into it. Now that the babies were fed she could get started with their own dinner. 

"It's done... mostly, just need to purify the solution with the dawn's light, so the last step will have to wait till morning," she said, rubbing at her temple. Anne nodded, letting her focus as she started to get a warm stew going for them over the fire. After a little while Marcy spoke up in a conversational tone, "you know... earlier when we were fighting the weasel... I think I tapped into my own magic a bit."

"Oh yeah?" Anne looked up, excited for Marcy. She knew that Marcy had been frustrated by being unable to do magic herself. This was a big breakthrough for her! "How'd it feel?" she asked, throwing snow in the pot to melt.

"Bad."

Anne nodded, remembering the headaches she got when Val was first teaching her. She waited for Marcy's analysis, what parts hurt and why, followed by the possible applications for her magic, if it was different or a theory about why their magic was similar. When none came Anne frowned, looking up at Marcy. Marcy sat close to the fire, bundled up in warm clothes and a blanket, but still shook slightly, taking slow deliberate breaths.  Her expression looked vulnerable, and scared.

Anne stood up from the box she had been using as a chair, walking over to sit next to Marcy. She put an arm around Marcy's shoulder protectively, she waited a few moments before asking, "do you want to talk about it?"

Marcy leaned into Anne's embrace before nodding. Marcy remained silent for a minute or two, putting her thoughts together before speaking, "do any of your powers make you feel... empty?".

---

The first thing Hop Pop heard came with great relief, the sound of ice cracking. Which meant he had survived another Hiber Day. Of course he couldn't be totally relieved before checking on the kids, but with both of them by his side it wasn't long before he was fully satisfied. However that was slightly complicated by their newest member not being down with them, then complicated further when looking up to the cellar door. 

Some of the planks had been ripped apart and hastily hammered back at odd angles, allowing sunlight to filter through. He spied a familiar clipboard and found a checklist with the names of everyone in Wartwood. Well, first thing first, he was mayor afterall. "Alright, sound off everyone. Anyone missing?" he called to the crowd of rejuvenated frogs, but his concern remained on the cellar door hatch. 

After a rollcall it was clear that the girls had succeeded! A Hiber Day had passed without any frog going missing. All that was left to do was check on their two humans. 

Sprig hopped ahead to the hatch, testing the doors, but they were still locked tight, "Marcy! Hey Marcy, are you out there?" Quickly Marcy's head popped up from one of the holes between the broken door planks, and Hop Pop felt fully satisfied. 

"Oh! Everyone thawing out? Everyone, okay?" Marcy asked eye wandering about the dim cellar.

Hop Pop walked ahead of everyone, "sure are kiddo. How'd you two make out?" Behind him Hop Pop could hear mumblings of people who had been on Wally's side earlier reconsidering their opinion. 

Above the sound of a lock being undone followed by Marcy unwrapping chains around the door handles could be heard, "We're both fine! Although I do have good news and... complicated news."

"What's the good news?" Sprig asked, sitting impatiently on the steps, tapping his foot rapidly, full of that post-hibernation energy. 

"Well, it was a beast taking away Wartwoodians, and me and Anne managed to get rid of it!" Marcy said to a round of cheers and claps. "On a related note, the ballista on top of town hall is in full working order."

"Rad!" Polly said excitedly.

"And the complicated news?" Hop Pop prompted, expecting this to probably be some kind of headache. 

Marcy waffled a bit, "well... we followed the beast to its den where it had a bunch of babies..." 

"So you killed them yourself?" Saddie Croaker provided, "doesn't seem so complicated to me."

Marcy's eyes looked to the side, "not exactly..."

Worried murmuring started up from behind them, and Hop Pop took on a more stern voice, "Marcy, this is starting to sound a awful lot like bad news."

"Well here's the thing, I found a curse that made them for all intents and purposes herbivores," she explained, "see there's this curse meant for your enemies livestock, where it will make them process plants as meat and vice versa, usually meant to make the livestock sick slowly over time, or become really expensive to feed if the curse was found out." she explained starting to get into the explanation, she brought up her hands gesturing with them, "but I figured that if we placed it on a carnivore-"

"Marcy, keep talking, but work on the chain, too." Hop Pop said patiently.

"Oh, right," the sound of the chain being unwrapped could be heard again, "so on a carnivore, it would make it much cheaper to feed them and safe to live with. I figured that we could try taming them for the militia. Mounts n such."

She pulled open the door and everyone started to filter out into the morning sun. 

Some were planning to rush off to their homes to check on their property, but were stopped by the sight in front of them. 

Anne was sitting in a nest of blankets and pillows with three hairless baby monsters licking at her face. She was holding a bucket she was coaxing one of them to drink out of, she gave a wave with her other hand, "they really like smoothies!"

Well. 

It certainly was complicated, he'd give her that much.

Notes:

Me, Chanting: "If we want the rewards of being loved we must submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known!!!!"

Hey, before I start, I just want to say, thank you to everyone who left messages being really sweet about me taking a break, it was very much appreciated. I probably will take scheduled breaks in the future to avoid the burnout I had felt. 

Speaking of, this chapter only exists cause I had that time to think things over. Originally the community service was going to be kind of skipped over, but I realized over the week that the pacing would have been off without a chapter between last chapter and next chapter. So we get a fun snow day with Anne and Marcy and a 21st chapter for the season. 

---

Marcy's New Power and the First Temple

So one thing my week off let me think about was the first temple. What's interesting about it is how it contrasts with the other two. The Heart Temple is almost exclusively a test of character, and must be completed alone. The Strength Temple is a test of of its signature trait, and arguably is best tackled alone, with others only serving to get in the way. 

The Temple of Wit however both has tests focusing on the trait & a test of character. Lets look at its three tests.
1. Pure test of wit, can you solve this cube puzzle
2. Partly a test of wit, but also a test of character. The puzzle is really not that complicated: Red and Blue Tiles bad, Green tiles good. The real test is "Do you have a companion who trusts your judgement?" 
3. Posed as a test of Wit, a game of flipwart. However since the game is rigged, it is secretly exclusively a test of character. "Are you willing to sacrifice your companions to achieve victory." 
Got me thinking: what kind of person were the temple builders worried would show up there. What the calamity powers might have turned them into. A worry that seems absent from the second and third temple.

I don't know thought that was interesting

---

Sasha Waybright

So I saw some people were nervous about how I'm characterizing Sasha. Worried that I might scapegoat her or villainize her to boost up Anne and Marcy. I just want to assure everyone that I love Sasha as a character, and I don't plan on wasting her potential in this AU like that. I don't think she was a solely toxic entity in their relationship with no redeeming qualities. If it was, Anne wouldn't be interested in repairing their relationship in S2. She will have her time to Shine in S2. 

That said

Sasha was a terrible person in S1 and I am not going to soften that characterization. Girl has extremely toxic control issues. All through Reunion she pushed Anne around. When Sprig stands up for Anne, Sasha tries to murder him in cold blood. She led a coup in true colors thinking it woul force her friends to listen to her again. Hell even in battle of the bands, where she was actively trying to deceive her friends to earn their trust, she couldn't help but try to take control. 

S1 Sasha did value A+M's happiness but that was always second to her need for control. 

If I'm not letting Anne or Marcy off easy for being complicit then I'm not letting Sasha off the hook either.

---

Comments

I got an explosive amount of feedback on the chapter last week and I just wanted to say I really appreciate it, it was kind of overwhelming and I appreciate all of you so much. Quick shout out to the readers who backfilled in some comments as they caught up over the last two weeks, its delightful to see how your thoughts shifted over the course of the story. 

So I don't have the character count to really answer everyone here, so I dropped it in a tumblr post here  

@LuckyOwl Dropped the next part of their post-AU fanfic for Awiw in the comments of the last chapter. It is very good and delightful to see how they think the world will progress. The viewpoint characters also have a great dynamic. 

@Navii-blu on tumblr did some great fanart for chapter 16 which was wild to see like a day or two after the update Tumblr no longer available

---

Final Thoughts

Hooo, so 4 more chapters to go. Next week. The adventure that was planned for this week. 

 

Chapter 18: A Fungus Amongus

Summary:

Hop Pop leaves for a mayoral tour of the valley, leaving Marcy in charge of the homestead, and inadvertently, the town.

⚡ Anne's Journal ⚡

❄ SNOW DAY! ❄

Today was pretty wild, the whole town froze over! Apparently every year there's like a flash freeze across the valley and all the frogs turn into frogsicles. The freaky thing was that every year someone went missing. Of course Marcy already had a plan. She had prepared a cellar for everyone to take shelter in. 

There were some who were pretty suspicious of me, worried I might loot the place while everyone was frozen. Some were even insisting I get locked in the cellar :( . But then Marcy totally went to bat for me! She put up a good front, but I could feel her hand shaking on my shoulder. She's come a long way from stumbling over her line for our fourth grade play. Before anyone could object further against her everything froze over, so I stayed free. 

We found out what was taking people every year, a giant weasel. Unfortunately we had to kill it to keep everyone safe :(. What was worse was it had babies ;_; but thanks to Marcy, we convinced everyone to take them in! Their names are Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry!

Marcy Fun Fact: Apparently mammal carnivores evolve into a shape similar to that of a weasel in a process called musal musti  over a long period of time. Wonder if the weasel babies' babies will evolve differently now that they're herbivores.

[There are rough doodles of Anne and Marcy throwing snowballs at each other on a snowy hillside below the entry. On the opposite page is a picture of three baby weasels poking out from a plush nest of blankets and pillows.]

---

🐾 Weasel Sitting! 🐾

With the new weasels to take care of, Hop Pop decided to let me take care of them for the last five days of community service, though I'll probably volunteer to help out until the path out of the valley clears up. The baby weasels are such sweethearts and I can feel their peachfuzz starting to grow in! They are adorable! Kind of a bummer me and Marcy were separated for the rest of the week, but she's got plenty of projects in the air as it is. 

I've also gotten to know one of those two lovebird toads, Braddock. She's in charge of some of the militia stuff, which now includes the weasels! She was kind of awkward around me at first, but I think I'm starting to win her over. She's also totally in love with that other toad Percy, their total awkward flirts.

Marcy Fun-Fact: Toad culture in Amphibia doesn't have a super strong sense of gender roles

[There is a doodle of Anne with her arms full of weasel babies with a big grin on her face. ]

---

🎉 Community Service OVER! 🎉

Its been two weeks and me and Marcy are finally off! While It was tough, I gotta admit, it was kind of nice being able to help out everyone. 

Marcy's also been a big help on the cooking front. Not with the actual cooking part, obviously, but she helped me find substitutions and make a bunch of the spice mixes that my parents used to use in the restaurant! So I've been getting the Plantar's on board with some classic Thai dishes! Noodles are a big hit around the house. 

Oh, also big news, HP is going to be doing some mayoral tour of the valley? Apparently he's mayor of the valley, which is weird, but that also means we're gonna have the house to ourselves! Technically Marcy is in charge, but Sprig n’ Polly are real excited. Apparently they normally get dropped off at some dumb daycare when Hop Pop is out of town.

Marcy Fun-Fact: Marcy is a total wuss when it comes to Spicy food but refuses to admit it. 

[In a different style of handwriting] Am not! :P

[Below is a cartoon picture of Anne and Marcy tearing off prison clothes to reveal their normal outfits underneath. A halo of light surrounding them.] 

---

"Hey there Vanilla, come on, you're the last one to open your eyes..." Anne looked expectantly at the little weasel in her arms. Marcy had told her how opening their eyes was one of the big steps for weasel babies. Anne had been away when Chocolate and Strawberry had opened their eyes, but she wasn't going to miss Vanilla if she could help it. The little weasel looked up at Anne, her eyes twitching ever so slightly. "Braddock! Braddock, it's happening!" Anne announced. 

Braddock, her fellow weasel wrangler, stood from a desk she was working at and limped over, a crutch under one arm. 

Vanilla opened her eyes, peering blearily up at Anne who was holding her. She sniffed at Anne briefly before licking at Anne's face. "Awwwwww!" The two caretakers fawned over the little weasel, petting it and congratulating the late bloomer. Anne grinned at the toad as she set Vanilla back down in the little pen they had made in the militia annex. 

"You know Anne, I was a little worried when they said you'd come and help out around here, but you're a real sweetheart."

"Worried? Was it the human thing or the thief thing?" Anne asked casually. This attitude was something she got pretty often and had become kind of funny for her

"Well, the human thing really." Braddock admitted. "What with uh, Marcy being your friend..."

Anne frowned a bit, "I heard about the whole... flamethrower mantis thing," Anne waved at the words as if to shoo them away, "but really, Marcy is harmless..." she paused looking down at the weasel babies and reconsidered, "well, she wouldn't hurt anything without reason anyway..." 

Braddock nodded, though she didn't look convinced and maybe a little confused, "hm..." 

Anne frowned at the reaction. Anne knew Marcy was the one who'd healed Braddock's leg and she was still this on the fence about her? 

"Anna Banana!" a chipper voice called through the door and Braddock flinched. "Hop Pop's about to leave!" Marcy informed.

"Hey, speak of the devil!" Anne grinned before turning back to the toad, "I gotta go, but give it some thought. Marcy really is a sweetheart." Anne insisted before getting up and running outside. Marcy waited for her a few steps away from the annex, "Marcy! Vanilla opened her eyes for the first time!"

"Aw, cute, did you get any pictures?" Marcy asked as the two of them walked off towards the edge of town. 

"No! Ugh! Stupid." Anne batted at her head. Of course she should have taken a video. 

The two of them arrived where Hop Pop and a few members of the militia were getting geared up for the tour ahead. Hop Pop was stressing about leaving the kids with only Anne and Marcy there to supervise, but Marcy was more than organized enough to meet his worries. 

"Alright, make sure that Bessie gets fed every morning and night." Hop Pop asked as he tightened the saddle and harness on his snail. "She'll whimper some time in the afternoon, but that's just a trick to try and get more mushroom treats."

“Yep, already in my notes." Marcy promised with a smile, a clipboard, and a checklist. 

"I should just be a week, week and a half at worst." A pair of the militia were loading up the snails back with some supplies for the trip, they were going to be doubling as an escort for the mayor. 

"Have a safe trip Hop Pop!" Sprig waved, holding Polly and her bucket in his arms.

"Don't get eaten by anything embarrassing!" Polly added. 

"Well since you asked so nicely” Hop Pop rolled his eyes at his littlest granddaughter, he then looked up to Marcy, ”and you're sure you're up to this Marcy?" Hop Pop asked with a slightly worried frowned. 

"Hop Pop." Marcy said, a little exasperated. “I’ve got this.” 

"Yeah, no worries HP, the farm will survive a week of you being out and about." Anne assured, putting an arm around Marcy's shoulders. 

"Still don't care for that nickname..." Hop Pop groused as he hopped up to the saddle "well I appreciate it, see you all soon!" Hop Pop opened his arms and Anne grinned as Marcy and the Plantar kids gave him a big hug goodbye. Anne, Sprig, Polly, and Marcy all waved him off.

As soon as Hop Pop was out of sight, Anne pumped her fist, "yes, no community service and no adults, time to party!"

Polly and Sprig both looked up at Anne, their eyes widening as they put together that, yes, the only adult in the house had left them to their own devices for the next week or so. "Woo Hoo!" They both cheered out. 

Marcy looked a little nervous at the declaration, "Well, after we get all the chores done, we can stay up as late as we want." She offered a little timidly.

Polly and Sprig’s enthusiasm dampened at that a little, but shrugged, still liking the idea of being free for the next week. Anne shook her head, "come on Marce, sure we'll make sure Bessie is fed and everything essential, but a lot of this stuff isn't our responsibility." Anne looked over the list of chores that needed to get done. Anne looked at the list and a lot of the projects were like, fixing up a termite infested wall, planting new crops for the harvest,  reorganizing a seed cabinet! Her and Marcy weren't even going to be there for some of them, in a month or so the ice was going to be melted and they'd be on the road. "We did so much work over the last two weeks, we deserve a rest." Anne insisted, shaking Marcy's shoulder.

Marcy looked back at Anne, unsure, then smiled, "you know, I bet I can handle this stuff myself." she said with a confident grin.  

Polly and Sprig exchanged a wary look with each other, "You... uh, sure you can handle it Marcy?"

"This much, sure." Marcy waved off their concern, "Half of this stuff I would do for fun, no worries." Marcy insisted. 

"Great!" Anne grinned, "you guys want to do a Suspicion Island marathon when we get back to the house? I'll make us some junk food." Anne had gotten the two kids hooked on the shows first couple of episodes the other night. 

"What's a marathon?" Sprig asked, kind of confused. 

"It's a long foot race..." Marcy provided distractedly as she went over her responsibilities for the week. 

"I think I'm good. I can't run and I don't think it would make watching TV all that great."

“What- no, a marathon is when you just watch a bunch of episodes of TV all in a row.” Anne explained to the kids

"Oh, in that case, Woohoo! Suspicion Island!" Polly called out. 

"They keep hurting each other cause of a lack of trust!" Sprig said with a grin, "It's all so avoidably tragic!"

The two kids grew wide eyed with excitement and started to argue about what snack foods they should have for their first marathon. 

Anne hung back a moment putting an arm around a distracted Marcy, "you'll tell us if there's anything you need help with. Right, Mar-Mar?"

Marcy smiled and nodded and they both went off towards Bessie the snail. That night Marcy came in from working out in the field in time for the mid season finale, watching it with them. Despite missing the first six episodes, Marcy was able to deduce the big twist at the end of the episode before dozing off. 

---

The next morning Anne was manning the stove like usual. Hop Pop was the undisputed king of flapjacks, even Anne had to concede that, so, she was instead introducing Sprig and Polly to the wonders of French toast, to great success. Fresh bakery bread really made all the difference in the world. 

Anne peered out the back door, looking about for Marcy. She took up the metal rod and started to ring the ancient cast iron triangle to send a deep resonant ringing across the farm. "Marcy! Last batch is going on, the fence will be there when you've eaten!" Anne chided a bit. She saw Marcy pop her head up from the fence line, dusting off her set of overalls and starting to march through the fields towards the back door. Satisfied, Anne threw on a pat of butter and soaked a piece of bread in the egg mixture. 

Marcy was all smiles when she got in, despite waking up earlier than everyone else, she still seemed chipper… or at least caffeinated. "Morning everyone! How'd you all sleep?" She affectionately messed with Sprig's hat and goggles, forcing him to fix them. For Polly on the other hand, Marcy gently tugged on her bow to even it out just so. 

"Pretty good, all ready for more suspicion island!" Polly said with excitement. 

"Yeah, you joining us today Marcy?" Sprig asked expectantly. "I think Peruvia is up to something... suspicious." Sprig said with squinted suspicious eyes. 

"No, fraid not," Marcy said with an indifferent shrug, "gotta go clean out the stable today. After I finish fixing the fence Spoticus bashed in." Marcy said looking out the back window. 

As Anne put a small stack of French toast in front of Marcy, she caught Sprig and Polly. "Maybe I can help out with Bessie? Then we can all watch together!" 

"Noph-" she tried to speak with a mouthful of toast, but took a moment to quickly swallow it down, "no, it's okay, you can let your sis handle it." she said with a confident smile. 

Anne grinned seeing them all interact. Anne was aware there had been setbacks with the townsfolk, but after the last two weeks Anne could tell how closely Marcy had bonded with the Plantars and how much they cared for her in turn. Seeing them all together made Anne a little homesick, even made her miss her somewhat tumultuous relationship with Val, but she was glad Marcy had found refuge with the farm family.  

A heavy knock came at the front door and Anne put a preemptive hand on Marcy's shoulder, "I'll see who it is, you finish eating." Anne instructed and headed out towards the door. 

She went out to the front door and opened it, revealing two annoyed looking frogs. An older blue frog in overalls and another younger yellow frog in a rough spun dress. Both looked up expectantly at Anne, "We have a problem..." the blue frog said, annoyed. 

"Uh, like ‘we’," Anne pointed between herself and the two frogs, "or we," she pointed back and forth between them. The yellow frog confirmed the latter by gesturing between herself and the blue frog. "Cool, uh sure! Shoot." Anne shrugged leaning against the doorframe. She didn't really get why they had come here, but she could lend an ear. 

The two frogs looked at each other confused before explaining, "we were hoping the mayor could arbitrate?" the yellow frog asked. 

Okay, yeah, that made more sense, "Sorry, Hop Pop is out of town this week, can it wait?"

"No, not really," the blue frog explained, "but fair enough, what abouts the others one of you creatures, Marcelle"

"Marcy," the yellow frog corrected.

"Right, they’re the assistant mayor or what have you, correct" he asked. "Hopediah didn't go gallivanting about the valley with no one watching the coop here?"

Anne paused in thought, Marcy definitely suggested a lot of projects for the town, but she was pretty sure it wasn't her job... "I... don't think..."

"Hi, yeah, what's up?" Marcy popped up next to Anne. "I finished eating," she explained before Anne could even think to comment. Marcy stood up straight with a clipboard, ready to arbitrate. The two frogs explained their problem. Apparently the blue frog had some kind of prized ‘exploding gourd’ that he grew in his garden, but last year some of the seeds had landed in the yellow frog's garden. They had grown to maturity and they both felt they had ownership over the plant. 

As they finished explaining, Marcy nodded, "okay so, by valley law, 'soil is sovereign', so Sarah, those gourds are yours."

"Told you." Sarah said with a nod to the now grouchy blue frog. 

"buuuuut." Marcy said, "Daryl did donate the seeds, wittingly or not, so if you want to sell them, he has the right of first refusal. Totally yours if you just want to eat it." 

Daryl looked over, accepting the ruling, "you willing to sell 'em?"

"All but one." Sarah said, "I got all the makings for beetle stuffed gourd and I don't plan on letting them go to waste."

"Beetle- is that your mama's old recipe?" Daryl asked.

"The very same," Sarah nodded. "Found her recipe book in the attic last spring."

Quickly the animosity between the two frogs evaporated as they reminisced about summer dinners long past and walked off, seemingly satisfied with the arrangement.  Marcy nodded and started towards her bag in the corner to take out her journal. Sprig and Polly came out from the kitchen and had a concerned look. 

"I didn't know you were the assistant mayor Mar-Mar." Anne shut the door.

"That's cause I'm not..." Marcy said with a little frown on her face. "but for this week, it looks like I am..." She grinned confidently, "alright, I should be able to go down to Town Hollow for a few hours each day to see to any problems, then I'll have plenty of time to do the chores around here." Marcy said mostly to herself, rapidly working out a schedule in her journal.

Anne felt a little tug at the bottom of her dress and looked down at a concerned Sprig. She squatted down closer to his level, "What's up Little Man?"

"Do you really think Marcy will be fine with all this work on her own?" Sprig asked. 

Anne considered the words then looked over to her friend, "Hey Marcy, do you mind if I do a check in?"

"Go for it Anna Banana." Marcy gave a quick thumbs up before returning to her scrawling. 

Anne looked at her with her empath sight and saw orange confidence rolling off Marcy in waves, as Anne expected this added wrench was more a welcome challenge for Marcy. Satisfied, Anne turned off her sight and turned back to Sprig, "She's got this. Honestly, we'd probably just get in her way." Anne recalled a number of group science projects over the years that she had almost ruined, only for Marcy to salvage what remained for their group. 

Sprig looked unsure, but nodded, "Alright... you have known her longer." 

Before long Marcy raced downstairs to change out of her farming clothes. She pulled Anne aside, asking her earnestly to keep an eye on Sprig and Polly for her. Anne promised no harm would come to them while they binged more Suspicion Island. Reassured, Marcy set off for town. 

That second day Anne didn't worry too much. Sprig, Polly, and herself finished their binge around dinner and Marcy arrived later in the afternoon and ate with them before going out to finish the fence repair she had started that morning, working by shroomlight. Marcy had gotten to bed later than normal, but nothing too drastic. 

The third day was when Anne noticed something was off. Marcy had woken up earlier than Anne and had barely any time to scarf down breakfast before going into town. With their marathon done, Anne let Sprig take her on a hike through some of the places near the farm. Then indulged Polly, letting her show off the crossbow and miniature catapult she had made.

Anne came up with a game for them all to play, using some of the farm equipment as targets. Sprig used his slingshot, Polly the crossbow, while Anne struggled to work the catapult. That kept them all occupied until dinnertime, and Marcy had still not come back. Even without them saying anything, Anne could read the worry in the two siblings' faces, which rubbed off on Anne pretty quickly. They stayed up pretty late playing games on Marcy’s Shift, but when both of them were barely bale to keep holding the controller, Anne called it a night and promised to check in with Marcy when she got back. 

Marcy did came back close to midnight, apologizing with a fairly thick leather bound tome under one arm. Apparently there was some kind of pothole problem the old mayor had done a half assed job trying to fix just before the election. Now snails and carts were falling into them all around town. She hadn't eaten so Anne whipped her up something quick and easy. Anne tried to stay up with her to keep company but ended up passing out somewhere around 2AM. 

The fourth day was when Anne was officially worried. They had all gone to town early to pick up some groceries for the rest of the week and Marcy looked... haggard. She was mumbling out to herself while she wrote in her journal. She had been walking behind Anne, Polly, and Sprig before coming to a full stop, obsessing over whatever she was working on. 

Anne looked contemplatively at her friend, now sharing the worry of the Plantar kids in full. "Hey Marcy, check in?" Anne asked, already adopting the gesture. Marcy nodded, giving a quick thumbs up. Anne cast and Marcy was still surrounded by a confident orange glow. She let the spell stop before leaning towards the kids, "she's... not going to ask for help, is she?"

"Nope." Sprig confirmed.

"This is the medicine incident all over again." Polly added sourly. 

"So, this all happened before?" Anne asked, "how'd you stop it?"

“Hop Pop put his foot down about the whole thing.” Sprig explained. “It got kind of emotional.”

Anne hummed for a moment in thought, "Hey Sprig, you know how to do most of the farm work right?"

"Yeah." Sprig nodded. 

While they talked, a little paper bird came fluttering down out of the sky into Marcy's hand. She stuck her book under one arm before unwrapping it. She read the note and Anne watched as Marcy’s face fell. She put away her book, scribbled something down on the message, and started to refold it into a bird shape. 

"News from Maddie?" Anne guessed sidling up next to Marcy.

"Yeah..." Marcy fished out a little orange vial, "today was supposed to be our first coven meet up since we started community service." Marcy said drearily. She carefully dropped a single orange drop on the paper bird and it came to life. Marcy leaned in and whispered to the bird, "go find-"

Anne snatched up the bird in her hands, and pulled them in close, "go! Be free!" she says and lobs them up into the air. The bird fluttered for a few flaps before falling down into the road, shaking a bit. "uh..."

"You can't give golems the command to be free Anne... it gives them anxiety." Marcy explained, scooping up the shaking bird. "Or well, something like it anyways… no brain chemistry afterall..." 

"Ah, sorry little guy." Anne said down to the bird. Marcy looked up at Anne in question, too tired to be annoyed. "Could I take a look at that chore list HP gave you?" 

Marcy took her clipboard out, only belatedly questioning the request, "sure, why-?" Seeing the list, Anne gripped the bottom of it and pulled it from the clipboard, "huh- hey!" Marcy called out in weary distress in pursuit of Anne. 

Anne backpedaled away from Marcy, pointing at any given item and saying, "dibs, dibs, double dibs, dibs, annnnd dibs."

"Anne, its fine I can get to them," Marcy insisted, stymied in her pursuit of the paper by Anne placing a palm on Marcy's forehead. 

"Well then you really should have called dibs." Anne chastised.

Marcy sigh, a little exasperated smile coming to her face. "Anne, you said you needed a rest-"

Anne feigned an exaggerated yawn, "-and I got it!" she snapped and pointed a finger gun at Marcy, "Thanks for that, but now we're all bored and need something to do." Anne gestured down to Sprig and Polly. 

"We are?" Sprig asked, confused, but at a look from Anne, corrected it to a, "we are!" Polly just rolled her eyes.

"but-" Marcy tried to object. Anne held up a hand. 

"Really Marcy, it’s kind of selfish to try and hog all this to yourself," Anne said with a smirk. 

Marcy laughed tiredly, letting out a defeated sigh, clearly seeing through the little ruse. seeing through what Marcy  "okay, so maybe I took on a little too much," she put a hand to her forehead, running it back through her hair. Anne's smirk fell a bit as she saw a healing scar that made a notch through Marcy's eyebrow. Marcy noticed Anne staring and self consciously brushed her hair back down over the scar, "so, you can handle the groceries?"

Sprig nodded, "leave it to us, tell Maddie I said hi!" 

Anne shook off her worry and regaining her confident swagger. "Come on!" she turned to the Plantar kids, nodding towards the Grub n' Go "we gotta resupply on snacks! Gotta get me more of that beetle jerky. "

---

As Marcy watched her siblings and Anne walk away, she felt a now familiar mix of warmth and lovesickness. Which was frustrating because Marcy knew Anne would never see her as more than a clumsy childhood friend.

Looking at it statistically, the chances that Anne was a compatible orientation was about one in twenty. Then based on the kind of romances Anne liked the most, even if she was open to dating girls, Marcy estimated herself at a one in twenty chance of being Anne's type. So hey, she just needed to hit a nat 20 on disadvantage. One in four-hundred. A mathematically insignificant chance of success. Definitely not worth risking her friendship over. Better to just accept things as they were. 

And if she could get her heart to listen to that logic, life would be a lot simpler. 

Before disappearing into the Grub n' Go, Anne turned around one last time and made eye contact with Marcy. She gave her a little wave and a smile. Marcy returned it, feeling her cheeks grow warm. Once she was properly alone she let out a little sigh, and got Bessie all ready to go over to Maddie's. 

"Feeling a little lovesick are we?"

Marcy was a startled by the voice and turned to see a frog wearing a black robe that hung down over his eyes. He also had some kind of extremely tall hat underneath. Still she regained her composure, "wh- no, no of course not. Anne's just my friend," she insisted, intending to beat a hasty retreat. 

"Well, that's a shame." the mysterious man said, pulling out a glowing purple vial, "I might have the perfect thing to change that..."

Marcy paused, eyes looking at the vial cautiously. 

"This is a bit, well, let's call it a love potion." he grinned with all seven of his teeth. "It will lull someone into a... pliable lovesick state."

"It's a... mind control potion?" Marcy said dubiously. 

"To the unromantic mind? I suppose," the stranger asked with open hands, "it's not dangerous, I assure you and they won't remember a thing afterwards."

"They won't remember... anything?" Marcy asked, eyebrows knitted, reaching out for the vial. 

"Not a thing..." the man assured. 

---

Anne brushed the sweat from her forehead as she sat back against the wooden post, she had replaced her heavy black dress for Marcy's set of work overalls. Her and Sprig had spent the last two hours planting field after field with Marcy's seed drill. Her and Sprig were taking a break for lunch and Anne looked out over the field with a distant look.

Sprig came up behind her, handing out a chilled glass of water from the icebox. He looked at Anne while kicking his feet over the fence they were resting against. "Copper for your thoughts?" Sprig asked curiously. Anne looked up in question and Sprig shrugged, "you've been a little out of it since the Grub n' Go." 

"Yeah, I guess... I don't know. Just thinking about Marcy..." Anne admitted. 

"Oh yeah?" Sprig encouraged. 

Anne sighed, "It's just... she's doing so well out here, In this world I mean." Anne smiled, genuinely proud of her friend, "she used to have trouble with public speaking, and now she's giving like speeches to the town." Anne gestured broadly out. "Using her smarts to make everyone's lives easier. You told me all the work we did this afternoon used to take like, days right?"

"... does that... bother you?" Sprig guessed, confused. “That she’s doing well here?”

"No!" Anne replied instinctively, then bobbed her head to the side and sighed, "kind of? I just... I was always there for Marcy, keeping her out of danger or helping her out of social situations. But... she's grown here and... she doesn't need me anymore." Anne admitted, feeling a pit in her stomach. "I always knew she was going to outgrow me... she's so smart and I'm... not. But I didn't think it would be this soon."

"Man, human friendships are complicated. " Sprig said, shaking his head. "For the record, I don't think Marcy really cares how smart you are Anne. Or that you did things for her." Anne looked up curiously and Sprig, "I mean, I told you, the first thing she did when she came here was ask for help looking for you. Even if she doesn’t need your protection, I think she still needs you." Sprig grinned a toothy grin, "She told me all sorts of stories about how cool and kind you were to her on Earth, and you know what? You've lived up to the hype." 

Anne smiled at that, "Well you've been pretty cool yourself Little Man. I'm glad you were able to befriend Marcy."

"Actually, she befriended me." Sprig said, hopping off the fence, "when the two of us were trapped by that mimic bird? She just held out a hand and asked if I wanted to be friends. Too bad human friendships can't be that easy." 

Anne paused, remembering an event almost a decade past now. The kindergarten playground, quartered off from the rest of the elementary school. Anne was new, just transferred in after her parents bought the house they all lived in now.  A few of the kids had excluded Anne, either for being the new kid or for the accent she hadn't grown out of yet. Marcy had been sitting on her own for most of the recess, digging in the sandbox. Anne sat next to her and started to help her dig, suggesting they dig their way to China. Marcy had mumbled that it would be impossible cause China was tens of thousands of kilometers away. Anne just insisted that meant they better get started. 

They had dug deep enough by the end of recess that they had been overlooked by the teacher when all the other kids had gone in. Eventually their toy shovels came up against tougher and tougher dirt until they couldn’t dig any further. This was also around the point the hole was so deep that neither of them could scramble out of it anymore. So the two of them just had to wait. Marcy started to apologize, but Anne had insisted she’d had a great time. 

Then Anne had held out her hand and asked if Marcy wanted to be friends. Anne would always remember the sparkle of joy that had entered Marcy's eyes and the way she nervously asked if Anne would like to hear some cat facts. 

The first thing Anne told her parents when they were rescued after school ended was that she had made her first friend. The second thing she told them was how you could tell what time of day it was by looking at a cat’s eyes.

Back in the present Anne laughed warmly, "sure would be nice…" she agreed. 

In the proceeding silence, Sprig spoke up a little nervously. "Hey, can I ask you something about Marcy?"

"You need to ask me?" Anne said a little smugly, "why don't you just ask Marcy if your friendship’s so easy?"

Sprig rolled his eyes, "there's still things you should be considerate about Anne. "

Anne smiled, "Alright, sorry, sorry, shoot Little Man."

"... do you know what happened to Marcy's parents?"

Anne paused, confused before responding, "uh, nothing? As far as I know?"

Sprig looked mildly surprised, "really? Huh." He shrugged, then started to drink from his glass of water.

"... why do you ask?" Anne sat up a little straighter. "Did Marcy say something?"

"No, she hasn't really brought up her parents all that much." Sprig explained. “Me and Polly just thought there might be a reason for that.”

Huh... Anne tried to bring to mind what she knew about Marcy's parents and found that she too didn't know much about them. Aside from the occasional pick-up or drop-off, Anne couldn't recall seeing Marcy's mom much. She couldn't even remember the last time she talked to Marcy's dad. Maybe third grade? Anne was pretty sure he was an accountant or something?

"Well, that's a relief anyways," Sprig says good naturedly.

"Cool, so my turn," Anne said, rubbing her hands together, "do you know how did Marcy get that scar on her forehead."

"Oh, yeah, that happened back at Toad Tower." Sprig explained casually. 

Anne blinked back in shock, "Marcy was at Toad Tower? Why?"

Sprig looked back at Anne, "Marcy hasn't told you about that!?" Sprig shook her head, "she is modest about the weirdest things. She was incredible!" Sprig said vibrating with excitement. "Oh, okay, so Marcy was a prisoner and - okay, wait." Sprig stopped, clearly over excited, "the official story is that herons attacked the tower and we used the distraction to escape with Marcy. The town was just getting over their fear of Marcy, so we didn't want to feed into that mentality, okay?"

Anne nodded, having seen those lingering opinions still held by the people of Wartwood. 

"So that’s the story if anyone from town asks. But the real story? Way cooler! So, after the toads captured Marcy; me, Maddie, and Ivy went on a rescue mission."

Anne listened to the whole story, and was totally blown away. Anne knew first hand how dangerous the toads at the tower could be. The bravery of the three little frogs to break in there for Marcy's sake was heartwarming. Anne had already taken a liking to Sprig and Ivy, but it made her drastically reassess Maddie for the better. Sprig regaled her with how the frogs had snuck in and broke Marcy out, how they had been discovered, and how they had fled the tower. 

Anne listened as Sprig spoke glowingly of when Marcy took charge and led them to safety. Cornered in on all sides and using magic and what tools she had on her to save everyone. Anne smiled, imagining the two tomato plants all tying up the toads, little Petey-sized heads biting at ankles. Marcy calling in two birds to cause enough of a distraction for them all to escape off the wall then cursing and tackling a still 7 foot tall bird defending the three little frogs.

"That all sounds wild, dude." Honestly Marcy sounded like a superhero, which Anne still had a little trouble picturing. After Sprig finished his spiel, Anne took a moment before asking, " but wait, so how did she get that scar?" 

"Oh! Right, while we were running from the toads she tripped and bonked her head on a doorframe." Sprig explained with a shrug.

Anne let out a chuckle. That sounded like the Marcy she knew. “What did the toads even arrest her for in the first place?”

Sprig frowned, remembering, “Ah, well some tax toads came to town and they mistook Marcy for another human and-” Sprig paused as he saw Anne’s face fall. “Ah haha,” he tapped at his temple with a nervous grimace, “hey, I think I figured out why Marcy never told you this story.”

Anne started rapping on her head with her knuckles. Of course the toads didn't just forget about Anne, and Marcy had paid the price... 

"Hey," Sprig went and sat down next to Anne, "Those toads were jerks... Marcy probably just didn't want you blaming yourself..." 

"Yeah..." Anne thought back on Sprig's story. Her hand drifted down to rest just over the scar on her abdomen. Anne's experience with the toads in the tower had been brief but memorable. If they came looking for Anne, they'd come after Marcy and the World Hoppers one of these days. 

Anne felt a bubble of determination boil up from within her. Just because Marcy didn’t need Anne to be her guardian angel didn’t mean Anne couldn’t still have her back. "Hey Sprig, once we finish up the fields tomorrow, do you want to help me out with training my new combat style?"

"Totally! We should ask Polly for help, she's been working on something down in the dungeon."

"The what?" Anne said, nonplussed. At which point Sprig launched into another story about how Marcy had discovered a dungeon beneath the old Plantar home. 

---

Anne laid on the bed, her whole body feeling sore. Farm work was a lot as it turned out. It felt incredible to just be lying in a pile of sheets and pillows. Anne tilted her head over to look at Marcy working at her little alchemy set up on her desk, a bubbling purple mixture in a flask. Anne was going to drag her to bed soon, but it was clear that whatever she was working on was more of a relaxing endeavor.

It was crazy to Anne how much fun Marcy clearly had doing things like chemistry and math. Things that she always had such trouble with basic understanding. 

As she felt a familiar sense of insecurity, Anne thought back on her conversation with Sprig. Human friendships didn't need to be complicated.

"Hey Mar-Mar, do you mind if I check in about something?" Anne asked hesitantly, sitting up.

"Sure thing." Marcy said not looking up from her work, "what's on your mind?"

"Nothing much." Anne cast empath sight, most things fading into void around Marcy, "I just wanted to ask about how you saw me..." Anne explained and watched as Marcy's aura shifted to a nervous yellow. Which in turn made Anne a little more nervous about asking, but it was too late to back out now. "I was just wondering, you don't mind that I'm not as smart as you, do you?"

To Anne's mild confusion, she watched Marcy's aura and body shift with relief. "You mean knowing less about math and science and stuff? No, that never bothered me." Marcy's movements became natural again as she worked on her potion.

Anne felt relief herself as not a bit of static clung to Marcy's words. She should have known better, of course Marcy wasn't the kind of person to judge others like that. "So you don't mind having a dummy for a friend?" Anne asked jokingly.

"I..." Marcy's aura shifted to a concerned yellow. "Is this-" Marcy glanced back, her eyes still looked tired, but they wearily focused in on Anne. "Oh, this is bothering you bothering you." Marcy turned back around and started turning knobs and blowing out flames, bringing the experiment to a halt. "Anne, you're not dumb." Marcy spoke as if it was a natural fact about the world and not just her opinion.

Anne paused, a little shocked that no static appeared when she said that. She frowned, worried that Marcy had figured out a way to beat the spell's lie detector. "you know I don't mean, like, blind and deaf right?"

“I know,” Marcy, experiment now safely on hold, turned around in her chair, seeing the doubt on Anne’s face, Marcy spluttered "What- Anne, you have a lie detector- Is it saying I’m lying?"

"No, but technical truths can get by it." Anne felt herself deflate a bit, maybe Marcy had deflected her first answer as well, "It's okay Marcy, I know I'm kind of dim, it's not a big deal." Anne insisted.

Marcy's aura started to shift to irritated red interspersed with blue, "stop that!"

"What?"

"Saying mean things about yourself!"

"It's not mean if it's true..." Anne said with a forced chuckle, looking away from Marcy.

Marcy paused for a moment before asking in a calm tone, ”okay, so it’s possible, if you're clever, to avoid triggering a lie. That’s what you think I’m doing?”

Anne nodded.

“But you feel it when someone tells a lie right?”

Anne nodded again, looking back to her friend nervously. Marcy was wearing a smile that said she had thought of something clever and had an aura to match.

"Great!” she cleared her throat “Here are a list adjectives I associate with Anne Boonchuy’s intelligence: d̘̝̯̪̳̰i̦͎͙͇̬͝m̵̪͔̜-͇w̱̘̼͎̼̮i̟̼̦̠̠͟t҉t̨͕̝͖͓e̙d̸̞͙̠̖̦." Anne flinched as each syllable stung of lies. "̢͙̩̗̲̪͎͕u̬͉̫̤̺n͏̗͖̲̙̜͚̟iń͈̫t͖̦͓̰͡e̜̗̠̩̦̹l͏̫l̡͍͖͕i̹̦̞͎̝̪̩͝g̸͚͙e͏͖͖̖͎̩͇̙n̴̳̰͚t͕̼̥, w̥̟͎̟̻̺̤i̢͍̱͖̰̬͕t̸͇̼̲̬̣l͇̙̣̻e̸̫͎s̴͓͙̯ś̪̱̬̯͇͈" Anne scrunched her eyes shut in pain."s̩̹̲t͉͔͓̮̹ͅu͈p͍̮̬i͕͕̼d,̷͍̱ ̛͚̫̤̟ͅi̜͍̝͈͔̝͎g̙̪n̹̟̼or͇͙̤͔ͅa̩̫͖̬̥̺n̞̦̠͖t͓,̟̖̟ ̤̼̥̖̘s͎̠l̼͖̳̠ͅo̪̺̫̠̞̠w̴͚͓͔̜͙,͚̳͉̺̠͘ͅ ͎͓͜d̘̕u̟̝̲l̡̹̘̘͙͖ḽ̱̗͇̤͇-̗͖̲̜͕"

"Okay! Okay! I believe you!" Anne shook her hand out, pleading. She was feeling the weirdest mixture of pain and encouragement.

"Happily.” Marcy let out a sigh as her aura shifted back to concerned. “Are we both done saying mean things about my friend now?" 

Anne nodded, rubbing at her temple, "... so you really don't think all that?" she asked and Marcy agreed. "Why?" 

"Okay, so first off, I think you have great emotional intelligence, we've been over that. Plus your quick on your feet." Marcy listed out, "but I'm guessing this is more about academic stuff, math and science, right?" Anne nodded, "in which case: I still don't think your stupid about those either." Marcy assured, her look and aura softening. 

Anne looked at her friend, baffled but appreciative, "but... what about my grades and stuff?"

"Oh, yeah." Marcy nodded, "you are bad at school." Marcy readily agreed. "But that's not really a fair measure cause you also don't really... try?" Marcy said apologetically. 

"Marcy, you have to help me cram for every school test."

"Yeah. Which is how I know your not dumb, Anne." Marcy said it like it was obvious. At Anne's confusion, she elaborated, "Anne, I don't think most people can totally check out for the semester, spend 1 night cramming for a test, and then pull out a passing grade." Marcy explained. "When the pressure is on and you focus on the material, you actually picked it up pretty quick, all things considered."

"... huh." Anne had always attributed her test scores to Marcy's tutoring, she always made it easier to understand things. 

"You always acted like your grades didn't bother you... but they do, don't they?" Anne didn't say anything, but didn't refute it either, looking off to the side. She could vaguely track Marcy's movement as her aura shifted around the room until Anne felt the bed dip next to her, Marcy's hand held out in offer. Anne took it looking back at Marcy. Her aura shifted back to that mysterious purple Anne still was having trouble getting a read on, "Anne... you clearly have a pretty high regard for my intelligence, and... I'm sorry if that ever made you feel less about your own…" briefly her aura dipped to a shade of blue, but then seamlessly back to purple. "but if you think I'm smart, then take it from me, you're not dumb!" Marcy insisted, eyes bright and words without a hint of sarcasm or deceit. "Anne, I think you could do anything you set your mind to... you just gotta actually set your mind to it. Which is great cause once you do your way too stubborn to stop..." Marcy's face scrunched up with regret and she rubbed at her eyes, "okay sorry that last part came out wrong? I am still very tired, I meant it in a good way." 

Anne laughed a little. She had gotten these kinds of pep talks in the past, but they had somehow always rung a little hollow. Things teachers and parents were supposed to say, even if they didn't believe it. But Marcy believed what she was saying, if she didn't Anne would have felt it. Lots of people had compared Anne to Marcy before in less than favorable ways, Anne most often among them. But… Marcy had never looked down on Anne, whenever Anne had been confused or lost on a topic Marcy was more than happy to help her understand it. It was always Anne’s mind that had ascribed malice to it. 

It didn't suddenly fix all her insecurities, but it was a start. A vote of confidence Anne could build on. Anne dropped the spell, and gave Marcy's hand an appreciative squeeze. "Thanks Mar-Mar." 

"Sure-" Marcy was interrupted by a yawn that ripped out from her throat, "- thing Anna Banana."

"You need some sleep." It wasn't quite late yet, but Anne felt Marcy could use the extra z's. 

Marcy stood up, stretching out, "in a little bit, I should really finish this experiment." Marcy said walking back to her station. 

Anne followed her, obnoxiously wrapping her arms around her friend’s neck and resting her head on top of Marcy's, just to be a passive reminder to go to sleep soon. "What'cha working on anyways?" Anne asked curiously. She spotted a half empty vial of what looked like stardust in purple slime, "does it have something to do with-" Anne reached out to get a better look, Marcy held a hand up in caution. 

"Careful, please." Marcy warned, "it's some kind of mind control tonic," Marcy explained and Anne's hand flinched back. "Pretty sure it's absorbed through the skin..."

"Marcy, why do you have a mind control potion?" Anne asked, more than a little worried. 

"Some shady guy gave it to me outside the Grub n' Go." Marcy explained, talking as she continued to fiddle with some tubes. "He disappeared when I looked away. I told the militia about him, so hopefully he'll be arrested soon."

Anne nodded, comforted by the explanation. "Freaky... why'd he give it to you?"

There was a hesitant pause before Marcy answered, "... he thought I wanted to control you..."

Anne grinned, speaking in a light manner, "what, and you wouldn't want me as a loyal servant?" Anne asked in a faux offended manner.

Marcy chuckled tiredly, then shook her head, "maybe... but not like that. I could never force you to do something you didn't want to..."

Anne frowned a little, she couldn't tell if it was just how tired Marcy must have been at the moment, but Anne could swear there was some kind of... forlornness to the texture of Marcy's words. Like they weren’t quite talking about the same thing. 

Soon enough though, Marcy had finished her experiment and they got ready for bed. 

---

Marcy marched her way down the dirt road mid morning the next day. The full night's rest definitely made everything feel better. Plus, she had managed to be a good friend to Anne the previous night… she hoped so anyways. She hadn't gotten much better at reading people but Anne seemed to appreciate what she had said. 

She and Maddie had agreed to meet up about the mind control tonic the next day. After examining it last night, Marcy was pretty sure it had some kind of mushroom spores in it. If not exclusively spores in it. She arrived outside the bakery to the sounds of the triplets giggling. Marcy knocked on the door and waited for a few moments before trying the door, "good morning!" she said as she entered. In the background she could hear Aldor hard at work in the bakery like normal. Unlike normal, the smell of burnt bread wafted through the house. 

In the living room Marcy saw the three triplets; Rosemary, Lavender, and Ginger; enjoying being juggled by their older sister. Maddie had a... somewhat unnerving unblinking stare and muted smile. "uh, good morning everyone." Marcy said with a little wave. 

"Good morning Marcy." Maddie responded robotically. 

Marcy nodded, walking forward, "you, uh, still want to go look into this potion some more?" 

"Sure," Maddie almost immediately stopped juggling, and Marcy had to make desperate dives to keep the three triplets from just being launched across the room. Marcy fell to the ground in the effort but managed to catch all three of them.

"No!" protested Lavender from Marcy's arms, "don't play with this old lady, keep juggling us!"

"Sure." Maddie walked forward and retrieved the triplets from Marcy's arms and started to juggle them again, much to the little girl’s delight. 

Marcy sat up, getting a bad feeling about all this. "... what's up with Maddie?" she asked the constantly juggled girls. 

"We're helping her with her experiments!" Ginger explained with a laugh, "higher!" Maddie obliged, tossing the three girls higher into the air. 

"So she doesn't need your help anymore!" Lavender taunted.

"What experiment?" Marcy asked cautiously.

"The favor juice experiment!" Rosemary provided. "Maddie asked Dad for help with her experiment and slathered it all over his forehead! Then he did whatever she said."

"So we thought we would help too, so we put a bunch on her head while she was sleeping!" Lavender giggled, "Now she's been playing with us all morning!"

Marcy's eyes returned to Maddie's, and saw as from the corners her usually yellow eyes started to glaze over into a supernatural purple, her iris's starting to glow until they were bleached white. 

Maddie breathed heavily, letting out a breathy, "haaaaaaaa."

"Alright, I know where this is heading..." Marcy quickly grabbed all the pollywogs out from the air and started to back away towards the door. 

"Hey let us go! Maddie!" Lavender looked back at her big sister as mushrooms started to sprout out from her forehead, "Maddie?" she asked, a little scared as the father of the four lurched into the living room. Head also crowned with purple mushrooms and with a similar empty stare on his face. 

Without waiting to get tragically bitten, Marcy turned and evacuated with Maddie's sisters in her arms. 

---

"So, do you want the easy mode or the hard mode?" Polly asked with a wicked smile on her face. 

Anne looked around at one of the apparent many rooms that laid beneath the Plantar estate. It was covered in arms, armor, and little post-it notes left by Marcy. "Uh, what's the difference-"

"Too slow!" Polly jumped up and dragged down one of two chains hanging from the ceiling, "Hard Mode!" she growled out. 

The long hallway in front of them surged to life. The suits of frog armor that had been stationary now started to swing wooden great axes. Swinging pendulums of what looked like hollow out wooden hammers clanged together. Planks of wood started to spin like saw blades on the floor. Little airsoft pellet sized things started to fire out of the wall at various angles. "Woah, intense..." 

"I mean I guess..." Polly said disappointment evident in her voice. "Marcy wouldn't show me how to tinker with all this unless I promised to replace all the metal weapons with wood. So you can blame her for that."

Anne made a note to thank Marcy for that later. 

"Luckily fire isn't metal!" as if on cue, a jet of flame shot out from the ceiling on a mechanical arm that shifted back and forth. 

Well, Sprig wasn't wrong, this sure would be some training. She felt his hand on her leg and she backed up a pace as she was almost bodied by a swinging wooden hammer, "Don't worry, you can do it Anne." Sprig encouraged.

"Of course she can! I did the original without legs!" Polly encouraged, in her own way. "just gotta hit the off switch on the other side of the room." she pointed.

Anne took in a breath, and pictured the set up her and Marcy and worked out. She pulled both of her hands back to shift into her 'magi-armor' as Marcy had dubbed it. Starting at her hands, spectral blue gauntlets appeared over them, connected to bracers that went just over herelbows. She conjured matching grieves and boots on her legs. She swung her arms slightly, expecting some kind of heaviness or weight, but her arms felt as light as they ever had in the dojo. She could feel some mental strain, but... it was manageable. She hoped with practice she might be able to get a whole armor set going. 

Anne set her foot back and adopted a muay thai stance, waited for the hammer in front of her to swing by and then dashed forward, a set of pellets shot out from the wall. She held up her arms and crouched, blocking or dodging most of them. After a few more steps she jumped over the rotating planks of woods and made it to the armors. She held her arm up to catch the blow of one of the armors. The impact was barely noticeable and she followed it by a kick to the head. The armor started to fall apart and she continued on, dive rolling ahead of the fire only to crouch-block two incoming ax swings. One of which she miscalculated where it would be and it bonked her on the shoulder. She felt that it was going to bruise and continued on to the end. She threw the switch, heaving a sigh. The whole training course heaved to a stop mid motion. 

Anne heard clapping from down the hall, Sprig giving a standing ovation, "wooo! Nice job!"

Anne appreciated the claps but found more commiseration with Polly's appreciative but ultimately unimpressed look. "Thanks dude, but I think I can do better. Polly, think you can get this all set up again?"

Polly lit up at that, "sure! Let's see if you can get through it backwards!" The little Pollywog jumped up, heaving down the chain. Everything came to life again, and Anne nodded, readying herself and diving back into the fray. 

---

"Old lady, you're going to help Maddie and Daddy right?"

"Don't call her an old lady! She might not want to help."

"P-Please, we didn't mean to make mushr-ho-hoooms grow out of their heads."

Marcy had found her way to Maddie's witching grove after improvising a sling for the triplets with her sweatshirt. She was on her third attempt at a solution to this problem. Her first two attempts had turned into magical sludge and were dumped unceremoniously in the bushes.. She was trying to get the perfect balance of magical aspects for some kind of anti-fungal potion.

She had seen the center of town and knew this problem was huge. She didn't have the time or materials to brew enough potion for everyone. Though if she could get her witching partner back, maybe they could figure something out together. 

Marcy looked at her in progress potion, then recalled a gardening tip from Mr. Boonchuy. She found a small bottle of vinegar and added just a few drops to the bubbling concoction. Instantly she was rewarded by the collar shifting from a discolored brown to a rich pine green with white swirls like the wind inside.

Which seemed to come just in time as a zombified Maddie came stumbling into the grove.  

---

Anne stretched out as her and the Plantars all came up from out of the dungeon. It felt good to get the practice in, even if she had a few extra bruises, scratches, and singed hair to show for it. She felt accomplished. Still, definitely ready for dinner. 

Anne went to start dinner while Sprig and Polly went to the living room to start looking through Anne's phone for something to watch. 

"Huh... Daryl and Susie are back again." Anne rolled her eyes, they'd have to find Marcy back in town if they wanted help solving their little dispute again. "they're uh, kind of moving funny." Sprig said in a tone that made Anne worry. She came out from the kitchen to see what was up. 

Polly was by the door now too, looking out. "They walk worse than me, and I don't have legs." Polly criticized. 

"Oh, hey there's Mrs. Croaker and Chuck, too!" Sprig pointed out, and Anne recognized the various neighbors of the Plantars starting to swarm in from around the the fence. Staggering towards the door with crowns of mushrooms and freaky purple eyes. Anne could see them walk with a stutter and seemed to be groaning. 

"nnnnope!" Anne pulled her two charges inside and slammed the door shut before locking it. 

"Anne, that was pretty rude." Sprig said a little judgmentally. 

Polly on the other hand appreciated the action for perhaps the wrong reason. "And a revelation! We can just lock annoying people out?" she paused before turning to her brother, "hey Sprig can you step outside for a second?"

Anne shook her head, "I did that cause that is definitely some zombie nonsense going on out there." Anne said, pointing a thumb towards the door. 

"Zombies? Aren't they only in ancient dungeons cursed by a lich?" 

Anne gave 50-50 odds if that was something real in Amphibia or something Sprig learned from one of Marcy's games. "Not sure. But hey, if I'm wrong I'll take the blame as the rude monster living here." Anne reasoned. "Either way, that door isn't coming unlocked till I'm sure it's safe." Anne said, putting on her babysitter voice. Both Sprig and Polly looked doubtful right up until a shovel was hurled through the living room window. 

Ah, right, they always boarded up windows in those zombie movies. Okay, zombies coming in. Marcy had trusted her to keep Sprig and Polly safe, so what did she have to work with? 

Anne looked to the farmer painting on the mantle and with a flick of her hand pressed in the secret panel with telekinesis. The dungeon entrance started to open .

"Oh, great idea, we can hideout down there!" Sprig said and started towards the hidden staircase.

Anne had other ideas though, she scooped up Sprig and Polly's bucket and as silently as she was able, hopped up the stairs leading upstairs. She then cast an illusion of herself on the staircase, having it wait there until she heard the sound of people entering through the window. "Ah! Oh no! Run!" her illusion said with exaggerated tone of voice before fleeing down the staircase into the dungeon.She kept shoving the picture button over and over to keep the door from shutting. 

The shambling horde followed after the illusion one after the other. After the eighth zombie came shambling through the door Anne let her hold on the switch pop out and within a few moments the zombies were all trapped beneath stone and mortar. 

"Wow, nice quick thinkin' Anne," Sprig complimented from under her arm. 

Anne smiled, feeling her confidence grow a little. 

"Yeah, now the death traps will take care of them!" Polly added. 

That complicated that newfound confidence a bit. 

...

They'd probably be fine. 

"Alright," Anne whispered, "grab something to defend yourself with here, we don't know when more might show up." Anne said, and Sprig and Polly scooted off to their rooms. Anne peered out the window, and while there were fewer, there were still about six zombies shambling out in the fields. 

"Ready!" 

Anne heard the whisper behind her and turned around. "Alright Little Man, whatcha got?" 

Sprig produced a slingshot and a couple of colorful looking marbles, "Got my trusty slingshot and some magical ammo from Marcy."

Anne nodded in approval then turned to Polly, "and what about you?"

Polly heaved out a medieval looking spiked ball and chain, denting the wood where it landed. 

Anne was surprised but gave a thumbs up. "Alright, so the next step of the plan is that we all sneak out and get to Bessie, we'll all drive her into town and warn everyone about what's happening out here."

"Aww, we're not fighting our way through them?" Polly complained. 

"What if it's already happening in town?" Sprig asked worriedly. 

Anne thought on it for a moment and then shrugged, "then we'll find as many of our friends who aren't zombies and get out of there on Bessie!" Sprig and Polly thought for a moment before nodding, agreeing to the plan. "Alright, Sprig, what's the best way to get to the barn from here?" as Sprig explained his numerous ways to sneak out from the farmhouse, Anne wondered how Marcy would be handling this whole situation. 

---

Maddie picked out the last shriveled mushrooms out of her hair as she hushed and comforted her baby sisters in her arms.

Marcy, Maddie, her sisters, and Wally were all hiding in a cart in town square. All around them zombified townsfolk wandered aimlessly in search of more people to infect. Marcy was grinding down potion soaked herbs in her mortar and pestle

Wally was shaking with fear, though Marcy wasn't sure if that was because of the zombies all around or because he was trapped in close proximity to Marcy. 

She looked at him seriously. "Listen, Wally, You don't like me, and I... have a complicated opinion of you? Cause like, I get why you distrust me, but it's been a while since I've really wronged you in..." Marcy rambled in a whisper. "Anyways, the point is, if we don’t work together to break into the spa, Wartwood is doomed."

---

Anne, following after Sprig and Polly, tumbled into the barn's inner room with an ungraceful thud. The window was not meant to be snuck through and she was too big for it in any case. They had managed to avoid the zombies still around the farm and get to Bessie. Anne gently opened up the barn door and undid the latch for Bessie's stall while Sprig got himself and Polly up on the bench. Anne took up and picked up the reins. 

"Man Anne, I can't believe you made it through Bessie's whole book!" Sprig said, impressed. 

Anne shrugged, "well... I haven't finished the whole thing." Anne admitted. "But we're just going into town, right? So-" Anne heard little clicks from behind her and looked back to see what looked like leather seatbelts now securing Sprig and Polly to their seats. "Did that bench always have those?" 

"Marcy installed them." Sprig with a shrug. "All ready to go!" he said with a nervous thumbs up. 

Anne rolled her eyes, but snapped the reins to push Bessie onward. The barn wasn't too far from the front gate, so in theory this should be a clean escape. What Anne hadn't expected was that the moment she left the barn Bessie would sniff the air and then immediately charge at one of the zombies in the field. "Woah! Bad snail! Don't run at the zombies!" It reached the first frog in the field, and Anne was briefly horrified as, from her perspective, it looked like Bessie was eating the poor frog’s head. She was suddenly very worried that Bessie being a carnivorous snail might have been covered by the book. 

Fortunately Bessie let the frog down, head covered in slime and spittle, but otherwise unharmed. Then Anne noticed his dazed look and fact that his eyes were no longer glowing. "It's the mushrooms!" Anne said, snapping her fingers as Bessie rushed off towards another zombie frog. "Hop Pop said Bessie loved her mushroom treats!"

Before long they had managed to clear out the few zombies from the yard, they were dazed and confused, 

"What's going on?"

"How did I get here?"

"Why are we covered in slime?"

Anne waved, "hey everyone! Sorry, We'll explain everything later! There are snacks in the fridge!" Anne offered before snapping the reins and rushing off. 

For her first time, Anne felt she had done a pretty good behind the reins. Anne felt weirdly adept at driving a snail, it just came naturally to her. She just felt in tune with Bessie. 

A little while before sundown, they arrived on the edge of town. Wartwood had become... eerily deserted. Anne slowed their pace a bit as they started to go through the empty streets. 

"What happened here?" Sprig asked nervously as they went along. 

"I don't know... lets find who we can find and get out of- wha-" all of a sudden they were falling, they all grunted in pain as the ground gave out under Bessie, dropping them all into a 5 foot deep ditch. Anne now regarded the pothole problem Marcy had been stressing about with much greater appreciation. These things were ridiculous. Sprig and Polly undid their seatbelts and they all clambered up out of the hole. Sprig and Polly just jumped, but Anne had to pull herself up. 

The three of them looked down at the hole and Anne felt the creeping dread that she had fallen into a classic horror movie trap of overconfidence in a plan. This was confirmed as all around them mushroom headed frogs from all across town started to lurch their way out from the shadows of buildings. Some were dressed in the green of the militia, others were people Anne recognized from helping out around town. Stumpy, Felicia, and Aldor among them. 

"Ivy?" Sprig said in a heartbroken way as the little yellow frog climbed out of a rain barrel she had been hiding in. 

They started to surround them and Anne and the Plantars were backed againstthe wall of one of the stores. 

"You know... I always thought it would end like this..." Polly said in a solemn worldly way as she brought out her morning star to bear. 

Anne, blinked and looked down at the little pollywog, "you always knew you'd be torn apart by your zombified neighbors?"

Polly considered the words, "... okay the zombie part's a surprise." 

From the edge of the crowd one frog in a dirty old hooded cloak stepped forward with a nasty grin, "ah hello there!" he pulled back his hood to reveal the mother of all mushrooms glowing supernaturally. "Thanks for showing me how dangerous those snails can be, I'll have to account for them while I assimilate the entire valley! " he cackled maniacally 

Anne looked about, "Hey Sprig you had that magic ammo at the bizarre bazaar, right?"

"Yeah!" Sprig was already pulling his sling shot back. 

"Can you use that light one?"

"What do you mean a light one!?" Polly demanded, "he should be using the heaviest shot he has!" 

"Hey, do you three mind?" the massive mushroomed frog groused, "I'm trying to savor enslaving you all, and your really taking all the fun out of- AH!"

Sprig  aimed and shot at a nearby lamp post and it exploded into light, Anne assumed, she had her eyes shut. 

"Ah! God, do you know how much that hurts when you have thirty-seven pairs of eyes looking at it?" dozens of frogs held their eyes along with the mastermind

The complaint was lost on Anne as she picked up a blind Polly and her and Sprig attempted to escape the ambush. 

The ring was thinnest in the path heading into town. Even then a few blinded zombies made lunges for Anne, but fortunately she was able to stave them off with a kick or juking to the side. They ran towards the market, but found only more zombies shambling about, Sprig tried another light pellet but they were quick enough to shield their eyes this time. Sprig started firing his other shot until the horde started to close around them again. "I'm out of ammo!"

"I dropped my weapon when you blinded me!" Polly complained. 

Anne looked about in a panic "Sprig, get to the roof!" Anne called out pointing high, the little frog easily hopped up there and Anne tossed Polly up after him. Despite the zombies being frogs, they didn't seem too agile. Probably difficult for that weird mushroom guy to control them all at once. 

"Alright, how are you getting up?" Sprig asked, clearly worried.

"I'm not! Find Marcy! She probably has a plan! I'll keep them distracted!" Without waiting for a reply Anne started to dash ahead, leaping over the shorter frogs to start and draw them away from the young Plantars . 

Anne felt like she had done a pretty remarkable job. She ducked and weaved, summoned her gauntlets, and fought off what felt like dozens of mushroom headed frogs who were now all focused on her with laser-like precision.  She led them this way and that through the town, never quite finding a moment to hide. A couple of times she had the chance to flee back into the wilderness, but couldn't bring herself to do it. While she was still their focus that put pressure off of Sprig and Polly. As soon as she bailed she knew the Plantars would become the new prey they would all focus on. 

Anne however had spent the morning doing farmwork out in the fields and then the afternoon doing some pretty intense training. Eventually she was bound to get sloppy, and zombies don't need rest. Eventually while she was catching her breath one of the zombies managed to hop onto her arm and make themself an anchor. After a moment or two of desperate shaking she shook them off, but that gave a zombified Percy a chance to tackle her to the ground. 

Anne tried to struggle against the hold, to get up, but was soon dogpiled by half a dozen other frogs. 

Emerging from the crowd came the largest mushroom head of them all, approaching Anne. The sun was just starting its descent leaving a bright malevolent orange sky behind him from Anne's point of view. "You certainly are a slippery one, I'll give you that much. But the spores can wait until you tire . " he said with a malevolent grin. 

Anne looked up at the gap toothed weirdo right in his creepy glowing eyes. "You know, you should take better care of yourself, you look rough, dude?" Anne said sticking out her tongue. "Or at least some clothes that fit."

"Oh, I'm Actually the mushroom, not the frog, up here, up here !" 

Anne adjusted her eyes and realized the mushroom was glowing in time with the words. Oh, the mushroom! She frowned a bit, feeling guilty for dunking on the frog it was controlling. 

"In any case I think I have found an upgrade for my host body..." the mushroom taunted and Anne felt her stomach churn with worry. "I think you'll make quite the powerful host for me strange creature." From his dirty coat he pulled out a jar full of the sparkly purple goo that Marcy had been experimenting with last night. "Now then, let's prepare you to join our family. Hope that weird little neck of yours can support me." he grinned maliciously. 

Anne put up another struggle to little success, she didn't want to have a gross slimy mushroom growing out of her head. 

Then there was a sudden clangor from one of buildings and the zombies all looked away towards the noise. While distracted Anne managed to move her hand just enough to make a tiny semicircle motion and telekinetically flung the jar of purple mind control jam as far as she could. 

The leader reached out for the spores, distressed. "My spores! No! kagh-" the mushroom headed man started to cough violently as all around a sweet smelling green smoke started to roll in around them. The frogs and toad holding down Anne started to cough as well, the mushrooms on their heads shriveling away and most of them passing out. Anne was finally able to push their limp bodies off of her and sat up coughing on the smoke. Coming down the steps of the local Wartwood spa Anne recognized her best friend. 

“Marcy!” 

Marcy had on her back what appeared to be like an old flamethrower backpack. It looked stitched together from various bits of wood and heavy fabric. An alchemy bottle was sticking out of the shoulder, which in turn fed down into an accordion like hose that Marcy was directions and which was belching out smoke. Marcy herself was wearing what looked like a crow beak with two little yellow lensed goggles covering her eyes. Marcy offered down a hand and Anne started to see the hero that Sprig saw. 

"Are you okay?" Marcy's voice was muffled through the mask, but it was enough to shake Anne out of complacency. She took her hand and get back to her feet.

"You came just in time," Anne said with a relieved sigh. 

"Get them! We need to stop them here or else they will always be a thorn in the side of our ascension!" the creepy mushroom headed man called and the remaining dozens of zombies started to move in. 

Marcy held a damp rag out for Anne, “here, wrap this over your nose to protect from the smoke.”

Anne did so as the both of them stood back to back against the crowd, "you said we can look out for each other now, right?" Anne asked from over her shoulder. When she didn't get a response she asked again, "right?"

"Oh! Sorry," Marcy called back, "I was nodding coolly in agreement, but obviously you couldn't see that." 

Anne snickered, shaking her head affectionately. Anne flicked her hands, summoning her reinforced armor and the two of them went to work. Marcy sprayed out whatever magic smoke she had while Anne kept the zombies from swarming her. The two of them fought back to back in perfect synchronicity each frog that got covered in the smoke stuttered and then fell over, mushrooms shriveling up. Anne would reach out and pull Marcy back to her feet whenever she nearly tripped over one of the people they had... saved? Anne tapped one of the fallen frogs with her foot and they groaned in response. Yes, cool, saved. 

"Ah, shoot!" Marcy's smoke thrower stopped and she called back, "need to reset! Anne, cover me!" Marcy unloosed her backpack and kneeled down to tinker with it. Anne did as she was asked and casted a barrier over the two of them while Marcy worked. Zombies banged against the barrier, but Anne kept her breathing steady and her mind focused. 

Marcy pulled out the now empty bottle of alchemy from the shoulder, and dug into her shoulder bag, a fresh bottle was brought out along with a small cloth sack. She held the bottle out to Anne, "Uncork this then quickly slot it back into here." Marcy instructed. Anne did as she was asked, while Marcy flipped up a flap and small tendrils of that smoke from earlier bled out.  As Anne uncorked the bottle she started to feel it kickback as wind started to belch out through it and quickly forced it into the place Marcy had asked pulling a string taught to keep it in place. Marcy smiled up at Anne, "Alright! Drop it!"

Anne nodded and dropped the barrier and together the both of them went to fighting what remained of the horde. 

Before long the entire market square was littered with the dazed or unconscious bodies of Wartwood citizens. 

The leader of the zombies, was trying to crawl away, the massive mushroom half shriveled up and heaving, almost like it itself was coughing on the magical smoke. Anne and Marcy walked up on his collapsed form, his vessel turned to them hand outstretched. "Ah, wait, please I’m the la-" before he could even start to make his case Marcy bathed him in smoke. The giant mushroom shriveled fully  and finally detached itself from its poor victim's head. 

Marcy let out a sigh, she reached up, flicking the lenses of her mask down and they slid into her bird beak mask. Then she pulled the mask off of her face to hang down from her neck and looked over to Anne with a big grin, "we did it!" she said, holding up her hand for a high five. 

Anne returned it with gusto, looking back at Marcy, "thanks to you, I was almost a part of the horde. What the heck did you make?" Anne asked, pointing at Marcy's backpack set up. 

Marcy buzzed with excitement, happy to divulge, "oh man, so I arrived at Maddie's house wanting to investigate those spores, right? But her and her dad had already been taken over, so I needed to figure out some kind of fungicide potion!" Anne nodded, watching Marcy's face as she animatedly explained her solution to the zombies."- so the potion worked on Maddie, but we didn't have the time to brew up enough for the whole town! So we needed to figure out a way to more efficiently distribute the potions we could make!" Marcy's hands gestured restlessly this way in that "So I thought- Incense! We could soak and dry some ground herbs in the potion and then use the smoke to kill the mushrooms. But for that we needed an incense burner, and I remembered that day we helped out at the spa-" 

As Marcy talked, Anne felt a feeling bubble up inside her that she still didn't have a name for. She had felt it briefly when she and Marcy first reunited, when Anne discovered Val had left her behind and Marcy took Anne's hand to get them away. She had felt it again, stronger, when the two of them were swimming weightless through the glow stone caverns. She had just felt it last night when Marcy assured her belief in Anne, unwavering and true belief in her. The feeling was like a pleasant warmth sitting in the core of her being. For a while now she had  dismissed the feeling as seeing Marcy as some kind of connection to home. Appreciating Marcy as a single point of familiarity in a strange and alien world. 

And while that was part of it, it hadn’t felt like the full answer. 

But as Anne looked at Marcy, listening to her talk about how she MacGyvered what she could find from around the spa into what she had dubbed a ‘smoke thrower’, an errant thought passed through Anne's mind. 

A thought that right then; dark hair reflecting the setting sunlight behind her, light brown eyes alight in manic joy over her invention, with a smile just as bright- that Marcy looked really really pretty. 

That thought clicked into place and like a circuit made a whole lot of other vague thoughts and feelings long ago set aside snap together into a much clearer picture. Anne felt her heart beat faster in her chest. 

Marcy paused in her explanation to tilt her head in slight concern, "hey, you're looking a little flushed, you alright?" Marcy reached up and put a gentle hand on Anne's forehead, going on her toes to get a closer look at Anne's eyes, "you didn't get any of that spore gunk on you, did you?" 

"Nope!" Anne took half a step back, overwhelmed by how close Marcy was. "I'm doing great! I hurled that jar way over that way." Anne said failing to affect anything close to a natural voice. 

Fortunately, Marcy was momentarily distracted looking off where Anne pointed, which gave Sprig the window to hop up onto Marcy's shoulder to further distract her. "You guys were amazing! Anne with the kicking and punching, you belching out smoke! It was so cool!" he was soon joined by Maddie and a few other survivors who had been hiding out in the spa. 

Not too long after the citizens of Wartwood they had helped cure were starting to come to, along with others who hadn't been in the fight but had been shaken free of control after the mastermind had been smoked out. Soon Marcy was fully busy organizing everyone and explaining what happened and why you should never accept strange potions from strangers. 

There were bruised egos as those who had used the potions were found out and also plenty literal bruises courtesy of Anne. 

All of which kept them busy as the sun set for the day. 

---

Anne poked her head down into the archives. It had been a couple of days since all the hubbub had gone down and Anne knew Marcy had come here to relax. Hop Pop had come home after a successful week traversing the valley and had been shocked at the report of events while he had been gone. He gave Marcy the next however many days off she wanted and back pay for taking on the responsibilities of assistant mayor while he had been gone. 

Anne headed down the spiral staircase and emerged into the big two floored underground library. She whistled at how well put together everything looked. It might have been the fanciest place outside of the townhall in all of Wartwood. 

"Someone there?" Marcy's voice called out from the second floor, "something wrong?"

Anne called back, "nothing's wrong Mar-Mar, mind if I join you?"

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Marcy's voice called back. "Is there a book you were looking for? A new romance maybe?"

Anne smiled, called back, "I was actually thinking maybe some books on animals? I was thinking I should look into what might try and kill us when we leave the valley."

"Good idea! Fauna is... first floor, should be over in the corner to the left of the fireplace."

Anne headed over to the book case and picked out a few promising books, picking up one on mammals that she hoped would have some information on her new weasel friends. She climbed up the staircase to the second floor and glanced around until she found Marcy, sitting in a corner in a small collection of fancy floor pillows, back against a book case. Marcy waved to her in greeting before going back to her own book. Anne paused for a moment, looking warmly at her oldest friend. She wore her new crow mask like a necklace. A new patch adorned the shoulder of her sweatshirt with the green and bronze snail of the militia. Marcy had been made a member after saving the town. 

The past couple of days had given Anne time to reflect. 

Things had been insane for Anne for the past two and a half months. Nothing made sense. She had been stabbed for reasons she didn't understand and saved for reasons she still barely understood. She had been metaphorically thrown into a world of dangerous criminals and literally thrown into a world of monstrous birds and insects. She had discovered that magic was real and she was chock full of it. Just a few days ago she fought a town full of mushroom zombies then rode on the back of a giant snail to go to sleep in a basement owned by frog people. 

It's been wild. 

On Earth, discovering she had feelings for her best friend and another girl would have probably been the scariest, most confusing thing she'd have dealt with all year. Here, in contrast to what the rest of her life had become, it felt so refreshingly mundane that it was almost a relief. It was the first relatively normal teenage problem she'd had since becoming a teenager.

So maybe all the absurdity that along with her recent little confidence boost made it easier for Anne to stride over, ignore all the other possible seating options available and instead sit down and use Marcy's lap as a pillow like it was the most natural choice in the world. Anne heard a little squeak of surprise from Marcy, but no complaints, so she picked up the first book from her stack and cracked it open.

After reading for a little while Anne glanced up to Marcy, her favorite nerd was utterly focused on the book in her hands. Anne playfully reached up and pulled Marcy’s mask away from her chest for a moment.  Marcy looked down at her curiously but Anne just smiled, "You never told me what was up with your bird mask."

Marcy reached up and held the mask to better show Anne , "Oh, this was to protect me the incense smoke, it's fitted with a basic filter in it. I based the shape after the old plague doctors from the renaissance cause they looked rad." Marcy shifted a little, so she could talk to Anne more comfortably.

Anne recalled the designs from when Marcy had become obsessed with them in 6th grade, “I thought the plague killed everyone, did those weird suits actually work?”

"Not really no, they weren’t that effective.” Marcy admitted, “but what a lot of people don't realize is that their designs made perfect sense, in many ways they were forerunners to the suits the CDC use today. It was the materials technology available at the time that made them ineffective during the plague, not the design itself-" 

As Marcy started to ramble about the merits of long dead scientists, Anne laid her open book on her chest. She listened attentively looking up at Marcy with a similar look of wonder and warmth that she had all those years ago in the sandbox, when Marcy told her more things about cats than baby Anne could possibly know what to do with. 

So if Marcy forgot to mention that the archives automatically lockdown at sundown and lost track of the time, well that suited Anne just fine. 

Art by Kaereth

Notes:

"Nat 20 Baby!"

God I love writing these two dorks. 

---

Marcy, upon realizing she has feelings for Anne: *Gay Panic* 

Anne, upon realizing she has feelings for Marcy: *Gay Relief* 

---

Also, just Word of God, Marcy was never planning on using the spores on Anne, she was purely interested in how someone made a mind control potion. However, if I have successfully complicated Marcy's moral character in your eyes that for a moment you thought she might: Good.

---

Quick Anne Analysis

Doing a whole chapter on Anne gave me time to really think about her characterization. What's super interesting about her is that in season 1, Anne is super reluctant to take on any responsibilities, but once she has will stick to it no matter how difficult things become. Even if its objectively a bad idea to continue. She refuses to give up on making pizza even in the face of a giant carnivorous tomato plant. She avoids working out in the rain but then stops at nothing to try and save the Plantars when she thinks they are dying risking her life for them.  

Her laziness makes her relatable, but her inability to give her up makes her a super fun protagonist to root for, even when she's in the wrong. 

Edit: Also Anne's fighting style is Muay Thai because its fully wild to me that they introduce that she has practiced martial arts since childhood and it never comes up again.

---

Comments

As Always, thank you everyone for your sweet comments, it drove me to really spruce this chapter to a mirror shine. Thanks for all the well wishes over my break. I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter as well ^_^

I love the analysis people are putting in the comments, it's always exciting to see a comment alert pop up, but opening that email and seeing a block of text is just the best.  

Also, thanks to the person or people's adding to and maintaining the TVtropes Page.  

@Kitsune & The_Artist_Nerd Re: saying that my writing inspired them to write themselves
🥺 that is so sweet and I wish you all the luck with your writing!

@AH11K9 Re: Couldn't Marcy have used a Shrinking Curse to save the Baby Weasels?
Someone actually also asked this on tumblr over the week so here's the answer. Short Answer: Marcy doesn't have any more of them. 

@Kitsune Re: Do Anne&Braddock recognize eachother? Has Marcy forbidden Percy&Braddock from talking about Toad Tower?
So I think this was partially answered in the chapter, but to be clear. Braddock remembers Anne. Anne doesn't recognize Braddock as the one who stabbed her (it was dark, and Anne was in a panic, Braddock was in uniform). Marcy has not directly forbidden them from talking about it, but they have both kind of picked up on the vibe and somewhat fear her retaliation. 

@Ku Re: Why Can't Marcy Use Her Powers the Same Way as Anne?
So its mostly just that Anne, while doing her best, is not a full mystic capable of guiding Marcy. She was barely getting ahold of her own powers when Marcy found her. If Marcy had Val's tutelage, she could probably figure it out. 

---

Final Thoughts

Alright that was a big chapter, and while I am very excited for the next one, I am also currently sick with covid, so if I don't post next week, that's why. 

Thank you everyone for reading, and I hope you all have a good one. 

 

Chapter 19: Whispers in Swamplight

Summary:

The Plantar family has a quiet day at home.

- Marcy's Journal -

[On the page to the right is a rough map of Amphibia with various dotted routes from the Valley to Newtopia]

Day 97 in Amphibia, 

Preparations are going well! Anne and I checked out the ice blocking the valley pass a day or so ago. It was really starting to melt as we shift into summer, three weeks left at most. Also, cannibals! There were cannibals operating a roadside inn near the pass. They didn't count on Anne's magic so we were able to get away after almost getting cooked. 

I've exhausted pretty much every angle I can think of to research the calamity box here, so I've been throwing myself into figuring out the brass tax of actually navigating to Newtopia. Anne's been joining me out at the archive, looking up different foods we might be able to forage since it will be hard to carry supplies for the whole trip.

On a lighter note we just had our vote for Frog of the Year!I voted for Hop Pop since I think he’s done a lot of good as mayor. 

[The following section has been decoded for the convenience of the reader.]

I think me and Anne are finally back to normal, definitely on better terms than we have been, maybe even better than before we came to Amphibia! Anne finally seems comfortable around me again... but maybe too comfortable? I mean, we've always been physically affectionate, but it feels like it's gone up a notch? Maybe I’m just more conscious of it now? Hard to say. I want to just enjoy it, but I can’t help but feel guilty...

---

Marcy was sitting at the kitchen table, taking careful catalog of various Plantar travel logs and recording any pertinent information for their trip within. Polly was up early with her, sitting in front of Marcy and tinkering with a new design for the motor bucket car. "Hey, Marcy, does this look right?" 

Marcy looked up, studying Polly's design, with a few hums, "Looks good to... oh wait. You forgot the brakes again." Marcy said with an apologetic grin. 

"Dang it!" Polly took it back and started to take pieces and bits apart to start over the design. "Stupid need to stop, just want to go fast..." Polly grumbled under her breath. 

Marcy chuckled a little but made a note to herself to get a couple of bottles of air brewed up for when Polly was ready to test out her cart. From behind her, Marcy heard the creak and then thump of the basement trap door being pushed up and then dropped again, along with the sleepy yawn of Marcy's best friend, "awwwwn... good morning girls." Anne said entering the kitchen behind Marcy. 

"Morning Anne." Polly responded, pulling a wheel of a spoke. 

"Sleep well?" Marcy asked while still looking down at her journal. 

"Great actually." Anne said and paused over Marcy's shoulder, Marcy was about to shift her journal to give Anne a better look, but that train of thought was interrupted. She felt the side of Anne's finger across the back of her neck and then sweep up through the scruff of her hair. The sensation almost caused Marcy to fling her pencil across the room. "Wow, your hair’s getting long Mar-Mar," she said casually before moving past Marcy towards the cabinets. 

"Oh, right, uh." Marcy reached back feeling the place where Anne had touched, "Haven't gotten a cut since I came here... maybe I should get one before our trip," Marcy successfully kept her voice even and calm. 

"If you want," Anne said with a shrug, digging her phone out from her pocket, "I think it's a cute look on you." Marcy brought up her journal, trying to hide her blushing face. Anne dug out some earbuds for her phone, and Marcy could hear the faint beats of k-pop coming from them. Before putting them in she looked up at Polly and Marcy, "hey, thinking oatmeal for today, any objections?"

"Berries and honey in mine!" Polly asked with a wave of a flipper. 

"Sounds good." Marcy offered in as neutral a tone as she could manage as she worked to regain her composure. 

Anne nodded, popping in her earbuds and getting a fire going. Marcy could see Anne physically waking up more as she started to groove to the music. Marcy took the chance to watch her friend, unknowingly adopting a lovesick expression. 

"Man, you're lucky your girlfriend can cook." Polly said casually as she started to assess the disassembled pieces of her cart. 

Marcy looked at her sister horrified before glancing over to Anne. Fortunately Anne seemed completely absorbed in the music, humming to herself as she got the water on to boil and some oatmeal toppings out. 

Marcy chuckled nervously before saying, "Polly what are you talking about?" 

"I'm talking about when you almost burned the house down trying to help Hop Pop cook." Polly elaborated, "you're lucky you won't starve on your trip since your gir’-" Marcy slammed a hand over the pollywog's mouth and in a swift motion absconded with her to the living room. Marcy considered where the best place to go next would be when she felt a wet slimy frog tongue lick her palm and she removed her hand from Polly's mouth. "You Can't Silence Me!"

Marcy nervously glanced back to the kitchen before turning back to Polly with a pleading expression, whispering "okay, sorry, please Polly you can't call Anne my girlfriend."

Polly looked confused but lowered her voice to match Marcy's, "What? Why not?" 

"Cause she's not my girlfriend?" Marcy explained. 

Polly's confused look didn't change, looking to the floor in thought and then back to Marcy, "Anne was the one you were freaking out about a couple months ago wasn't she? During the firefly formal? You like her and not the other one, right?" Polly said, feeling like she had missed something. 

Marcy felt her face flush a little. While she had certainly journaled about it before, she never had the occasion to admit her feelings out loud, "... yes, but I haven't, you know, told her yet." 

"Still!?" Polly said, almost offended. Marcy shushed her and Polly put down her voice again but still sounded annoyed, "It's been weeks!"

"I know."

"You two sleep in the same room!"

"I know!" Marcy assured, feeling flustered. 

"How has this not come up?" Polly asked in a whisper. "You've had the time."

Marcy felt a nervous knot in her stomach as she considered the question. She didn't want to admit the truth to Polly, that she didn't intend on ever telling Anne. That she was deeply afraid of ruining everything they had managed to fix. Polly and Sprig looked up to her and she didn't want to admit how scared she was about this. "I'm just... you know, trying to feel her out a bit? I want to make sure she feels the same way."

Polly didn't look entirely convinced, "but-"

"Hey-" Marcy startled back up to a standing position to look back at Anne who was standing at the threshold of the kitchen, holding one earbud. "Sorry. Hey Marce; syrup, banana, and nuts, right?"

"Yep!" Marcy confirmed and headed back into the kitchen with Polly. 

Sprig was the next to come down, hopping into the kitchen and making requests for his own oatmeal, then over to Marcy to ask about her plans for traveling to Newtopia. 

"Are you going to see the smoking canyon? What about the great glacier?  Oh!" Sprig hopped up to Marcy's shoulder, "What about the catacombs beneath Newtopia! I hear it's super spooky down there!" he clasped his little froggy hands together in a pleading gesture, stage whispering, "Please take me with you." Marcy gave an apologetic smile to Sprig, prepared to give him the same answer she had given the last twenty-three times he asked.

"Sprig, get off of Marcy's shoulder." Hop Pop called as he walked into the kitchen, "and stop trying to sneak off on a whirlwind adventure when I'm not looking. You can explore the deadly deadly world beyond the valley when you're older." Hop Pop intoned. 

"Fiiiiiiiine..." Sprig said reluctantly, muttering to himself. Sprig jumped from Marcy's shoulder to his own seat at the table. 

"Morning Hop Pop," Marcy and Polly called. 

"Morning H.P." Anne said belatedly, inspecting a glob of oatmeal at the end of a wooden spoon. 

"Morning all. Girls, clear the table. Looks like Anne's almost done." Hop Pop lectured while getting into his own seat. Marcy started to close all her reference books and put them carefully next to her chair. Polly on the other hand tossed any unincorporated component of her invention into her bucket. Hop Pop looked at Marcy's journal and said, "Making plans for your trip to Newtopia, huh?" He observed and Marcy nodded. 

"Yep..." Marcy closed her book as Anne dished out her oatmeal, dripping with syrup and dotted by bananas, "Thanks Anne."

Anne snapped and shot finger guns at Marcy before sliding Polly her bowl. "What can I do you for, H.P?" Then started back towards the stove. 

"Just some cinnamon and brown sugar for me, thank you Anne." Hop Pop nodded and then snapped his fingers, "oh, you know I had a thought the other day about that box of yours."

"Oh?" Marcy said, stirring up her oatmeal before taking a bite. "Did you remember something?"

"Not me, myself, no. But I think I might know some old frogs who might!" Hop Pop explained. "I could see about them looking at it while you two are away." 

"Oh, that actually could be really helpful." After all, they didn't know for sure that Newtopia would have any answers waiting for them. "That-"

"Where you know em' from?" Anne asked from the stove. 

"Well, back before I settled down here, I used to be an actor in a traveling troupe." Hop Pop explained, "I met them back in those days."

Marcy saw a bit of stilted movement from Anne as she scraped at the pot to get enough oatmeal for herself and Hop Pop, "And you really think they can help?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely! They were some of the smartest folks I ever met on the road."

Marcy saw Anne flinch, "you okay Anne?"

"Yeah!" Anne responded, whirling around with the last two bowls, "hand grazed the hot pot," she explained shaking out her hand. "Sounds like a great idea." Anne said, putting down Hop Pop's bowl and then taking a seat next to Marcy to enjoy her own, "in fact you should take Marcy with you! I bet she'd love to compare notes with a bunch of eggheads." 

Marcy felt a bubble of excitement well up within her, "Oh! Yes! Where do they live?" Marcy said, tapping two fingers against the rim of her bowl. She was already thinking of questions for the scholars.  "Up in Swamp Shiro? Lily Paddington?"

"Oh, uh, well the thing is that they are actually outside the valley. That's why I didn't bring them up earlier." Hop Pop explained. 

"Oh... hm." Marcy frowned. "Well, I don't know if I would be comfortable sending it by post..." she hummed, "maybe you can give us their address? Then we can make a little detour when we leave the valley. Would you be okay with that Anne?"

Anne just nodded, mouth full of brown sugar, oatmeal, and banana. "I follow your lead Mar-Mar." 

"I'll, uh, see if I can dig up my old journal and get you an address." Hop Pop promised. 

"Perfect!" Marcy smiled, happy to have another avenue of research open up. As she dug into her bowl of oatmeal, Marcy could only think that it was looking like the start to a good day. "I was thinking of actually taking a look inside the music box. See if there's anything weird in the machinery." Marcy explained, gathering a few of the bowls, 

"I'm keep you company, I think I've almost figured out how to beat that optional boss in Vagabondia 3."

"Oh, the train fight? What you need to do is-" Marcy started but Anne stopped her with a playful poke to the nose. 

"Spoilers Marcy."

"hehe, right, sorry." Marcy giggled, gathering her books and following Anne towards the basement. 

---

Polly watched as Marcy retreated down the basement with her apparently-not-girlfriend. Now Polly wasn't an expert in love, she found the whole concept kind of suspect really. Still, supposedly it made people happy, and Polly wanted that for Marcy. Since Marcy seemed incapable of figuring out this crucial information herself, Polly would have to take care of it. 

"Oh, fiddlesticks." Hop Pop said, folding up his paper. "Meant to mention, Chuck will be by later today to pick up some of our compost, point him in the right direction if you see him, okay kids?" Hop Pop said, hopping out of his chair. "I'm gonna go get some fresh water for the washing machine. Then I think I'm gonna go work on my model ship for a bit."

"I think I'll go and see if any of the traps caught any fish in the river." Sprig said, dumping his bowl into the washing bin, and getting ready to go outside. 

"Hold on a second!" Polly jumped up on the kitchen table. If she did this all alone, then Anne might catch on. "I need your guy's help with something."

Sprig and Hop Pop both looked at each other surprised. It was rare for Polly to ask for help. Hop Pop smiled, not wanting to spoil the moment. "Sure Polly, what's on your mind."

Polly turned to her brother, "Okay, Sprig, so you know how you have a girlfriend?"

"No?"

"Well Marcy- What do you mean no!?" Polly shook, frustrated. "I thought you were dating Ivy?"

"No, Polly we had a whole misadventure so that I didn't have to date Ivy."

"It's true, I learned an important lesson that day, about... something or other." Hop Pop said, rubbing his chin in thought. 

"But I thought afterwards you started to like Ivy for real. You're always sneaking off together to be alone and stuff."

Hop Pop turned expectantly towards Sprig, apparently unaware of the information. Sprig blushed a bit, pushing his index fingers together, "Well I mean... I guess. I haven't told her yet though..."

"Ugh!" Polly face planted into the kitchen table. How were both of her siblings such weenies about this? Whatever, one problem at a time, "Okay, fine. My original point was that Marcy wants Anne to be her girlfriend and needs our help to figure out if Anne feels the same way." 

Hop Pop looked at Polly like he thought he knew better. "Polly, just because two friends are close like they are doesn't mean they want to date each other." Hop Pop explained patiently. 

"Uh, yeah, I know," Polly responded, impatiently, "I've talked to her about it. Plus, have you read the coded parts of her journal? It's almost all her fretting about Anne and how pretty she is. Blugh." Polly made a face. 

"Wait, you read those sections?" Sprig said judgmentally, "I thought those were like, private?"

"and I thought they were going to be filled with cool weapon ideas. A week of decoding wasted!" Polly said with a sigh, "But yeah, trust me, she definitely wants to kiss her. Like definitely. " 

"hmm..." Hop Pop rubbed at his chin, "you know, you might be onto something. I always thought those portraits she handed out back during the election were pretty lovingly rendered." Hop Pop said with a nod. "Alright, well Polly, while you shouldn't be reading other people's private journals, I'll trust you on this. How can we help Marcy?"

"Alright, so here's what I'm thinking..."

---

Marcy hunched over her desk as she flashed a light into the innards of the music box. Her desk had been completely cleared of any unnecessary tools or objects so she could have as much space and room as possible. She had spent the last forty minutes or so carefully disassembling the music box. She hadn't messed with any of the internal bits, just removed the wood that covered them up to get a better look. 

So far she had discovered that the actual movement of the music box was really novel. Rather than being a single tune it could play, it could be adjusted through a puzzle box like mechanism to play any number of tunes. Aside from that though, there was nothing particularly mystical about the music playing part.

Marcy had now moved onto looking at the area the gems were housed. She caught sight of some kind of design ringed around the gems and hummed in thought, reaching out for her little handheld magnifying glass.. 

"Found something interesting?" Anne asked from behind Marcy, lounging on their bed, the upbeat 16-bit battle music playing through Marcy's Shift. 

"Yeah..." she examined the interior woodwork where the gems slotted in. All around them were a series of symbols, "I think... these are runes! Like real magic runes!" Marcy said excitedly. She carefully pushed away from the table and then scrambled for her journal, flipping to a new page and titling it 'Calamity Runes' and starting to note down each of the unique shapes. . 

"Cool. Are they all in the music making part?"

"That's, hm, not really? They lead from the gems to the movement, the uh, part of the box that plays music..." she elaborated before Anne could ask. "they're kinda laid out like a circuit? They might be what's channeling the power when the gems are charged..." She made a note of the theory down before she started looking for any kind of pattern in the rune work. 

Distantly as she continued to work she heard the door open up to the basement. Marcy glanced over and gave an awkward three finger wave while holding onto her pencil, "hey Polly, sorry, can't play now, need to focus." Marcy apologized. 

"That's fine, I came down to watch Anne fail at that boss fight again."

Anne piped up, annoyed, "Hey, I got this in the bag just you-" 

Marcy tried not to snicker as the iconic do-do-dooooo tune of the game over screen. 

"Ha!" Polly said, hopping over and settling in next to Anne. Marcy could track where Anne was in getting back to the boss by fading in and out of the world music as she traveled from screen to screen. "This is that weird mission right? The one with the crazy lady?" Polly asked. 

"The one in love with the boss train? Yeah, this is that one..." Anne said and Marcy could practically hear her disbelieving expression, "She loves it cause... cause... Marcy, why does this lady love the train?"

"Well if you read between the lines, then it seems like the train is possessed by her lover?" Marcy answered, "The actual answer is the localizers phoned it in for that whole side quest. Her motivation has nothing to do with love in the original Japanese release." Marcy shook her head remembering when she had looked up that question herself, "it's become a huge meme in the English speaking fandom."

"Huh, neat, anyways, yeah, it's that one." Anne said to Polly. 

"Stories with love are always weird," Polly said with a bored expression, "though at least this one has a big train battle involved."

"Love stories aren't always weird... I mean this one is, but they can be really sweet." Anne said defensively as the boss battle music started up again.

Polly blew a raspberry, "puh-lease, how realistic could they be?"

"I mean, they don't have to be realistic to be good. But plenty of them can be." Marcy could tell Anne was getting frustrated by the conversation by the damaged voice line of her heroine pinging every other second. 

"How would you know? Have you ever dated anyone?" Polly countered. 

Marcy, who had previously been eavesdropping by matter of proximity, started to do so actively. More for the sake of Polly's motivations than Anne's answers. Afterall she knew the answer already.

"Dated anyone ? No... I've been on dates." the game over tune sounded. "Ugh... Marcy, hint?"

"Switch from fire damage in the first phase to water in the second." Marcy suggested.

"Gotcha." Anne sighed, and started the process of getting back to the boss. 

"It's a totally optional fight." Marcy reminded gently. 

Anne scoffed, "it's about pride now Mar-Mar." Marcy rolled her eyes at the response and started noting down another string of runes.

"You know we got through this fight on the first try." Polly taunted. 

"You were playing with Marcy right? Big surprise. She's a wiz at all games." The pride in her voice brought a smile to Marcy's face. 

"Fair." Polly conceded, "So who were they?"

"Who were who?" Anne asked as the boss fight started again.

"The people who you went on dates with." Polly reminded her. 

"Oh, them." Anne said with the verbal equivalent of an eyeroll. "I’ve only been on two. The first was a guy I sat next to in history. He was fine, the date was boring, but he was fine. There just wasn't any, you know... spark." Anne explained. "That other one was a real piece of work though. He was on the tennis team with me." 

Marcy frowned in empathy and genuine anger, remembering this story. 

"He was really into the fact that his family was rich and would not stop talking about it. I don't know if he thought the night was going well and tried to act on that, or if he knew it was going bad and got desperate, but he forced a kiss on me when he dropped me off."

"Gross!" Polly said, disappointed, "you let him get away with that?"

"Of course not! I kneed him in the groin." Anne said, mildly offended by the accusation, "he just surprised me."

"Oh. Ha, nice." Polly approved. 

"Thank frog that wasn't my first kiss." Anne said with a sigh. 

Marcy paused, searching through her memories before sitting back from her work and turned around. "It wasn't?"

Anne looked back at Marcy with a kind of confused expression. "No… Marcy, why are you surprised?”

"Who was it?" Polly asked curiously. 

“Marcy.” Anne said, pointing towards her shocked friend. “Honestly, kind of sad you forgot.”

“When did this happen?” Polly asked, frowning.

“Way back in the summer after kindergarten.” Anne looked back at Marcy seeing if that triggered anything. “Marcy had broken her ankle on the end of the year nature hike, so Sash and I went over to her house to play.” Anne smiled, reminiscing. “Marcy came up with this game for us to play. It had lore I… really don’t remember and didn’t fully understand at the time.” 

That rang a bell for Marcy, she had been obsessed with the Holy Roman Empire at the time, and made a fantasy version of it. She still had a composition book of notes for it in her closet. Or had. That was probably packed or thrown away by now. 

“It boiled down to Marcy being the damsel in a cardboard cave, I was the hero, and Sasha was the monster.” Anne pointed at Marcy, “remember? She volunteered to be the monster cause she was going through that phase of being obsessed with wolves?”

Marcy nodded, this hazy summer afternoon starting to crystalize in her memories. 

“Anyways, I won when Sasha charged headfirst into the awning’s support beam.” Anne explained, “then little Marcy called me over and as a reward for my ‘chivilous service’...” Anne looked over making eye contact with Marcy, “snuck a little kiss on the lips.”

Marcy did her best to control her facial expression as butterflies fluttered in her stomach. “Wow, I did that?” she said, honestly surprised with the boldness of her past self. She couldn’t have thought farther than ‘heroes get a kiss at the end of the story’.

"Aww." Polly says. Then remembering herself added, "I mean, gross."

"It wasn't gross! It was really sweet, I love that memory. Right after that Sasha grabbed the edge of the whole box and ran away with Marcy in toe and we kept playing-"  a victory chine came through the Shift and Anne pumped her fist in the air, "take that train lady! Oh... uh wow, she's really sad." Anne frowned, tapping through the dialogue. "Marcy, I'm starting to feel bad for the crazy train lady..." Anne complained and got reabsorbed into the game. 

Marcy turned back to the music box but failed to focus back on it for the next hour. 

---

Marcy eventually gave up on trying to decipher the mysteries of the music box. Her head was just not in a place for it at the moment. She carefully put it back together and decided to do a little prep for the afternoon game. Scheduling for the family ARPS game had been pretty complicated. Between Hop Pop's job, the community service, and a number of minor emergencies they'd only gotten a few sessions in. Usually while Anne was in town caring for the weasels. But today was going to be the best time for a while so they all gathered around the living room table for a game. Hop Pop was making giant popcorn outside while Polly was hanging with Marcy. Marcy was in her pajamas since they were doing the family wash today.

"It's a ton of fun, you gotta play with us." Marcy looked up from reviewing her notes to see Sprig dragging Anne in by a hand from the kitchen. Anne was indulgently hunched over so that Sprig was actually able to be dragging her. "Marcy, Anne should totally join us!"

"Little Man says you’re having a game night?" Anne said looking at the dice and papers. "You weren't going to invite me?" Anne asked, playfully offended

Marcy shrugged, "it's a game a lot like Creatures & Caverns..." 

"Ah," Anne nodded in understanding, but undeterred asked, "would you mind if I try it out?"

Marcy smiled appreciatively, though felt a little conflicted, "I'd love for you to, but don't feel obligated-"

"I don't." Anne assured, sitting criss-cross on the opposite side of the table. "No idea if I'll like it," she said honestly, "but Little Man seems pretty hyped about it and well, I wouldn't mind giving it an honest chance."

Marcy looked to Sprig appreciatively and Sprig beamed back at her. "I was thinking she could play Prince Andy!" Sprig suggested, before Anne could ask, he elaborated, "He’s this cool frog that was kidnapped when we first started the game and we finally saved him last session!" Sprig explained excitedly.  

"Yeah, I'm game. So first I have to like, roll for how strong and smart he is right?" Anne asked, clearly a little hesitant, even if she was interested. 

Marcy cringed a bit at her past attempts to run a game. Anne and Sasha might not have really tried, but Marcy had done herself no favors running it the way she had. She had learned a lot playing with the Plantars and felt much better equipped. "-this system is a lot less complex," 

"Marcy designed it for us!" Sprig said with a grin and Anne looked reassured.

 "you should be able to pick it up as we play. I'll get a character sheet ready for you. Sprig, Polly, would you mind catching Anne up on the story so far?" Marcy searched for a piece of scrap paper to stat out a character sheet for Anne as Sprig and Polly excitedly began to fill Anne in. Marcy couldn't help but grin as her siblings recounted the adventure they had been on in game. 

As Marcy stated up Andy, picking skills that both fitted the rebellious prince, she heard as the story came to an end. 

"And so we removed Andy out of that soul sucking machine and escaped from the liches dungeon just before it exploded! All thanks to our giant Burrowing Beetle Teddy"

"Wow, never knew charts and graph paper could get so dramatic.” Anne said without sarcasm, “So wait a minute, this Markus guy was Andy's personal knight?" Anne asked curiously. "And he's been working to help save him along with all you guys this whole time?"

"Yep, we thought he might be a spy or something for a while, but he's just really loyal." Sprig confirmed, "he even lost an eye protecting Andy last session." Marcy winced, that had been a rough failure. 

Anne swooned, "oh, that's so romantic! Yeah, alright, I ship it. Hey Mar-Mar," Anne leaned on the table towards Marcy. "Since I'll be controlling Andy now I can have him crushing on Marcus right? That's how 'roleplaying' or whatever works?"

Marcy was torn. On the one hand, she wanted to be a fair and balanced GM, and she wouldn't have deterred Sprig or Polly from roleplaying such a thing. However, if Anne wanted to roleplay a romance with an NPC, that would mean Marcy would have to act the other side. And she really wasn't confident her little heart could take it. 

"That... is how roleplaying works, yes." She answered, ultimately not wanting to discourage Anne from embracing the game.

"Andy and Marcus? Weird." Polly said, a little judgmentally. 

"Why, cause they're both boys?" Anne said confrontationally.  

"No!" Polly said not giving up judgment, "cause Andy is a frog and Marcus is a newt . He's like three feet taller than Andy at least ."

"Oh. Hmm..." Anne said, thinking it over again, "Naw, still think it's cute," she said with a shrug. 

Marcy quickly changed the subject to tell Anne how her character sheet worked and how to roll the dice. Soon Hop Pop came in with a popped corn so big that one or two was plenty even for the much larger humans at the table. 

Marcy took a deep breath and started the session. "So, we come back to the Gecko's End Inn, its warm wooden interior welcomes you along with its shifty eyed patrons." Marcy lays out a sheet of graph paper with a rough top down look at the bar, "Marcus rests from his wounds upstairs and-"

"Oh, Mar-Mar, could I try something?" Anne asked, looking excited. 

"Sure? Do you want to make a roll or-" 

Anne didn't elaborate and instead made her hand gesture and all of a sudden, Marcy's graph paper came to life, wooden floorboards replacing paper and graph lines. A wooden bar, tables, and stools popping up as illusions under Anne's control, Then a handful of tiny little figures, Amphibians of all shapes and sizes popped in to populate the bar. 

"Woah! Tiny people!" Polly said and then threw a crumb of popcorn through the tableau.

Hop Pop nodded in approval, "sets quite the stage."

Sprig nodded, "this is perfect, especially since someone broke all the figures I made for everyone's characters." he said, giving a stink-eye towards Polly. 

"For the sixtieth time, I'm sorry. " Polly said, clearly exasperated. "I got a little excited, I won't bring a morningstar to the table anymore."

Anne chuckled at the kids banter before turning to Marcy and gesturing to her to continue. Marcy smiled warmly at her friend and got the session started in earnest, loving the chance to collaborate with Anne on setting the scenes. Anne's flair for the dramatic and imagination blending with Marcy's fantastical prose…

---

The session was a success! It hadn't been the height of drama, being kind of a cooldown session after their escape, but everyone seemed to have had fun, which was the most important part. Even Anne had a blast, even though Marcy had Marcus kidnapped before she had to roleplay any flirting. If anything it made a bigger draw towards rescuing the knight than Marcy had planned for. 

For the moment Marcy, Sprig, Hop Pop, and Anne were all hanging out outside. 

The wash had been going all day and Marcy sat next to the humming washing machine As the sun started . It had only taken two attempts at using a washboard for Marcy to dedicate the time towards a proper washing machine. Her and Anne were out in their pajama's for the moment, waiting for the falling sun to finish drying their normal clothes. Air drying was a slow process in a place as humid as the valley. It was funny how comically larger her and Anne's clothes were compared to the Plantar's. 

Anne and Sprig were reenacting the big duel from the session between Prince Andy and the kidnapper while all of their clothes dried on the line. Anne wielded her tennis racket while Sprig used a particularly sturdy branch as a blade. 

Hop Pop was passing the time by asking Anne about various human customs. He and Marcy had done a bit of a cultural exchange when she had first arrived, but apparently he wanted to get another human's opinion on the topics. 

Marcy was largely just relaxing her nerves a bit. She loved running the game, but it was exhausting to be the center of attention for several hours in a row. 

"Looks like its finally done drying..." Anne said, rubbing the fabric between her fingers, "Hey Sprig get me that laundry basket." Anne requested setting aside her dueling racket to start folding. Marcy got up to help out and they all started to move through the chore at a short clip. 

"So, Anne," Hop Pop started, having just written Anne's take on the various Earth holidays from around the year. "Marcy told me that you don't engage to marry at dance parties like we do in the valley. You have to exchange some kind of rock?"

"A diamond yeah. Or that's what's normal where me and Marcy grew up, in L.A." Anne said, folding up her black dress and dumping it in the clean laundry basket. 

"Is that not normal everywhere?" Hop Pop asked curiously. 

"Nope, lots of different ways to do it. For example, my parents both got married in Thailand before they moved to the states. They had a super traditional Thai engagement and wedding."

Marcy thought back, on one of her first visits to the Boonchuy home she had spent a large portion of the visit pointing and asking about the various pieces of Thai heritage sitting around the home. Mrs. Boonchuy had been very patient in indulging in her curiosity. One of them had been their wedding photo that had led down a rabbit hole of Thai wedding traditions. 

"So, yeah, after 'passing through the gates’ ceremony, there's a dowry ceremony, then this knot tying ceremony using a special white thread known as a Sai Sin. I actually got to witness one down at the Thai temple when I was little." Anne said plucking Marcy's cleaned sweatshirt off of the clothes line. Marcy grabbed one of Sprig's vests to fold and turned back to see Anne slipping into Marcy's sweatshirt. Marcy felt her breath catch in her throat as Anne pulled the sweatshirt on tight, digging her hands into the two pockets and twisting this way and that. "How do I look?"

"G-good," Marcy managed to stutter out, heart beating out of her chest. 

Anne grinned appreciatively, snuggling into the sweatshirt, "man, this is comfy, mind if I keep wearing this for a bit?" Anne asked, already reaching for more clothes to fold. 

Marcy nodded, a little distractedly before forcing herself to peel her eyes away before she gave herself away.. 

"Have you thought about what kind of ceremony you'd prefer?" Hop Pop asked, having finished recording Anne's explanation. This shook Marcy from her feedback loop of embarrassing thoughts and she looked back at the Plantar patriarch suspiciously. She had started to notice a pattern with her family since breakfast and she didn't like it. 

"Hm... you know I never really thought about it." Anne said with a kind of far off smile, "I think I would prefer a western engagement, there's something so romantic about a proposal. But I think if it was my call I would like to have a traditional Thai wedding." She said a little sheepishly, "That was the kind I imagined when I was little cause that was the kind I saw in my parents wedding pictures... I don't know, I guess it would depend on who I was marrying..."

"If it's not too personal, have you thought about what kind of person you might want to marry?"

Okay, that was officially enough, something was up. "Oh! I almost forgot, family meeting! Now!" Marcy scooped up Sprig under one arm then did the same to Hop Pop but staggered a bit, not expecting the older frog to be as heavy as he was. 

Marcy was halfway to the house when she heard Anne call out from behind her. "Should I come too? is it an emergency?"

Marcy whirled around, resting Hop Pop on an awkwardly splayed out knee, "Oh, uh, if you want. I just remembered the other day that I had tested the top soil around the farm, and found that actually the breed of potatoes we were planning on planting might spoil, and-" As planned, Marcy could see Anne's eyes start to glaze over, 

"I don't think I'd have much to add, really." Anne admitted, "tell me the science stuff later though?" she said with a smile. 

Marcy nodded and turned around and rushed the rest of the way to the house, as she opened the door she saw Polly sitting in the living room reading something on Marcy's phone, "oh hey, what's- woah!" Marcy tossed Sprig up to her shoulder, where he grabbed on instinct, this freed Marcy's hand to scoop up Polly and rush them all into the kitchen. Initial panicked adrenaline strength finally started to run low. She unloaded her passengers, Polly and her bucket on the kitchen table and Sprig and Hop Pop on the floor, after taking a moment to breathe Marcy spoke up, "Okay, I love you all, and... hoo... and trust you have a good reason, but what are you doing!? " Marcy said the last bit in a hushed panic. 

"Well." Hop Pop said, a little indignantly after being carried like luggage through his own house, "right now I'm worried about the potato crop. We may not need the farm for income anymore, but it can still help feed us-"

"That-" Marcy drew in a breath, "that was a ruse, the crop is fine. Why are you all asking Anne about... romance stuff?" Marcy felt herself flush, realizing how awkward a conversation this was bound to be. 

"Polly," both Hop Pop and Sprig said in unison pointing a thumb towards the pollywog.

Polly did not even look bothered by her grandfather and brother selling her out. She met Marcy's questioning gaze with a shrug, "I was tired of you making goo goo faces at Anne and not doing anything about it. So I asked Hop Pop and Sprig for help so you can find out how she feels." Polly explained casually. 

"Polly you told them? " Marcy felt a brief panic spike, but that quickly shifted to cautious hope. She looked over to Hop Pop, "and... you're not bothered by it Hop Pop?"

"Huh?" Hop Pop looked confused to Sprig and Polly, but they just shrugged, "about what? Why me specifically?"

"A-about me liking Anne and..." Marcy paused fiddling with her thumbnail, "and that we're both girls?"

A look of parental understanding came to Hop Pop's face, mixed with just a teaspoon of offense. "Marcy, please, I was an actor. This is hardly the first time I've encountered a situation like this." Hop Pop chuckled with a reassuring smile, "I may be an old fashioned frog, but that’s got nothing to do with who you love..."

Marcy smiled, feeling her heart warm at the sentiment. "Thank you Hop Pop..." That was one anxiety she could set aside.

"Really," Hop Pop said in a light matter of fact tone that was probably meant to be reassuring, "the fact that you're both gangly monsters from another world is far stranger!"

"Thank you Hop Pop." Marcy repeated in a deadpan. "Okay listen-"

"Wait a sec, why would anyone be mad about Marcy liking girls?" Sprig turned to Hop Pop, curious. 

Hop Pop sighed, "Well Sprig, the truth of the matter is that some frogs are just hateful, or were raised to be so. N' they'll take any reason to hate others."

"What? That's stupid." Sprig said with an incredulous shake of his head, "I mean I like girls and no one's ever given me guff for it."

Marcy let out a little laughing sigh, "guys-" she said trying to recapture their attention. This was getting off track

"Why would people need extra dumb reasons to hate people?" Polly objected, annoyed, "there are plenty of reasons to hate people already."

"Don't worry Marcy," Sprig said, coming to stand next to her in solidarity, "Us girl-likers can stick together."

"That..." Marcy smiled down at her brother with an appreciative, if exasperated, expression, "the girl-liking part isn't what bothers people."

Sprig frowned, "Hop Pop! Marcy says you're wrong."

Hop Pop, who had been distracted trying to explain the concept of bigotry to Polly, turned back, "what? About what?"

"Guys, please-" Marcy said again, trying to regain control over the conversation. 

"She says people wouldn't be bothered by her liking girls," Sprig said with a shrug, pointing back at Marcy.

Now Hop Pop looked confused, "wait… did I misunderstand why you were nervous about all this?"

"No-" Marcy clenched her fists, she had a point to all this.

"Probably." Polly disagreed, "I mean, it doesn't make a lot of sense."

"Guys!" Marcy raised her voice and the three of them looked back to her, surprised, "sorry, just." She took a short breath, "I appreciate that all of you wanted to help, but please don’t."

The Plantars frowned at the request, "why?" Polly was the first to ask. 

"Cause, she might figure out why you're asking."

Hop Pop frowned in understanding, but Sprig and Polly looked confused, "Couldn't that... be a good thing?" Sprig ventured. "For the record, I think she likes you back!" Sprig offered, with Polly nodding in agreement.

" If Anne felt the same way?" She wouldn't, "sure. But if she doesn't it could... ruin everything." Marcy said with a shaky breath. "She might be creeped out or... or couldn't be comfortable around me anymore..." Marcy closed her eyes, shaking a bit. She had never spoken this fear aloud before, and that made it feel more real.

"Marcy-" Sprig voiced.

"Just a second, Sprig," Marcy insisted not wanting to get off topic again, "I'll tell Anne about my crush when I'm ready," which would be never, "so please don't accidently tip her off about it?" Marcy put on a smile and opened her eyes, only to see Sprig pointing towards her with a grimace, "what are-"

"Uh..." Marcy's blood ran cold as the voice came from behind her, "sorry I- a guy came by offering tulips? Or... just bragging about them? Marcy, did I hear all that right?"

Marcy couldn’t read Anne’s tone and panic prevented her from turning back to see for herself. Marcy took two strides over to the kitchen table where her shoulder bag had been hung off the back of her usual seat. 

This was fine, if she remained calm, this could be totally fine. 

Marcy opened the main flap and dug through it, knowing she was getting some bewildered looks out of her periphery. 

All she had to do was come up with a smooth plausible lie and everything would be fine. 

Hop Pop's eyes suddenly went wide and he reached out somewhat desperately, "wait! Marcy not inside the house!"

But he was too late, before he could even get out the request Marcy had drawn out her gas mask and two smoke bombs and hurled them at the ground. As the room filled with smoke and coughing, Marcy sprinted towards the back door. She tripped over a stool along the way and ran into the door. She managed to catch herself on the handle and shoved it open, spilling into the fresh air outside and sprinting as fast as she could across the Plantars fields in a blind panic. 

---

Marcy had fled to her garden in the back of the Plantar property, the one Hop Pop had gifted her after her little tomato plant debacle. She was curled up on the little wooden bench she had carved from a fallen tree that had been too large to remove. She was trying to keep steady breaths as she looked out over the different herb beds. She had to stay calm, she couldn't cry. If she was going to have any hope of salvaging this, she couldn’t come back to the house with red puffy eyes. It would be a dead giveaway. 

Even then, no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't imagine a way to fix this. Any plan or lie she could come up with would have been best executed before she ran away from the house. And every minute that passed killed any possibility of playing this off as some kind of misunderstanding. 

She knew that but Marcy couldn't bring herself to move from her spot. She didn't want to see the pity or the disgust in Anne's face. Every time it came to mind it put lead in her feet and kept her rooted in place. 

The sun was starting to set now, having already dipped beneath the horizon. The bioluminescent mushrooms she had cultivated around the garden were starting to glow and take over lighting duties for the night. A few late season fireflies gathered around the grotto that fed water to the garden. Marcy counted them distractedly until she heard someone coming down the path. There was a brief desire to flee, but the only way out was down the same path, every other direction was dense overgrowth beyond the borders of the garden. 

She hoped it was Sprig coming to check on her, or Hop Pop coming to console her. 

"Hey Marcy?" of course it was Anne. Marcy focused her gaze squarely on the ground, "hey dude, there you are..." she said awkwardly. When Marcy didn't respond immediately, Anne came closer and sat down on the bench next to Marcy. Marcy continued to focus on breathing, not wanting to cry in front of Anne. Out of her periphery Marcy could see Anne was still wearing her sweatshirt, which... she wasn't sure what that meant? Probably just didn’t notice yet. "So um... with what you were talking about with the Plantars earlier... you said 'crush', that was in reference to me right? You have a crush on me?" 

Marcy opened her mouth to lie, to try to play it off as some misunderstanding, like she had planned. But found she couldn't. She didn't want to keep lying and keeping things from her. Anne didn't deserve that. So she nodded instead. 

"huh..." Anne said thoughtfully, she didn't sound angry or upset...  

"I'm sorry I hid it from you..." Marcy said standing up, "I can sleep in the living room tonight. We’ll find you your own room tomorrow..." Marcy offered, "we should probably head back now, before everyone gets more worried." Marcy tried to turn and walk towards the path, but Anne's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. 

"Wait, Marcy," Anne's voice was a little confused, "what do you mean..." 

"It's okay, I'm fine" she insisted, feeling herself start to get emotional again. She clenched her fists, "You don't have to say anything else..." Marcy cringed hearing the bitterness in her voice. She could feel the atmosphere around them change. She'd squandered her only chance for this not to be a big deal. 

Anne's hand held onto her firm but not too tight, "... Marcy can you sit down again?" Anne requested. 

Marcy wanted to rip her hand away and run... but that wasn't really a long term solution… If she was going to be rejected, she might as well face it here and now. Marcy sat back down. 

Anne held onto Marcy's wrist, before working her fingers down to Marcy's hand. She tenderly worked Marcy's clenched fist open. "Sorry, I... I think I should clear something up..."

Marcy nodded, this was fine. If Anne hated her she wouldn't be talking this gently. 

"I'm... really not sure how else to put this... I don't want to embarrass you…"

Marcy braced herself, closing her eyes, taking a slow breath. If Anne was going to let her down easy, the least she could do was take this in stride. 

"Marcy, I've been trying to flirt with you for almost a week now."

Marcy was already nodding in understanding, but slowly stopped as the words actually registered. She had thought for months over what Anne might say if she ever found out, and this wasn't even close to anything she had expected. Her brain felt like it had short circuited. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked over to Anne. 

Anne was wearing a patient smile, cheeks slightly rosy. She was  looking down at Marcy's hand that she continued to hold in her own. She looked up to meet Marcy's gaze, smile widening ever so slightly. 

Marcy was drawing a blank as her brain tried to shift course, "I... didn't realize?" she said more to buy time than anything else.

A peel of giggles bubbled out of Anne, but they weren’t derisive or mocking, "yeah Marcy, I noticed." Anne said without judgment. Marcy's scrambled brain finally placed Anne's expression. It was one Anne usually reserved for things she found extremely cute, only with a... softness Marcy hadn't seen in it before. 

Marcy felt her mouth grow dry as it started to come to conclusions she hadn’t prepared for, "but... if you were flirting with me then... that would mean..." Anne tilted her head, patiently waiting for Marcy to come to her own conclusion. Despite all signs to the contrary, Marcy felt the gnarled root of doubt in her heart hold on, "does that mean...?"

Anne let out a small huff of air through her nose, deciding to take mercy on her. She pulled Marcy towards her while leaning forward. She kissed Marcy on the cheek. She held the kiss for a few moments on a now stunned Marcy, before leaning back. She had a slightly bashful expression before saying, "... I like you too Mar-Mar..."

Marcy reached up to the place Anne had kissed her with her free hand. The full whiplash of emotion struck home and tears came to her eyes. Anne looked briefly worried, but Marcy waved a hand, rubbing some of Anne's fingers in reassurance, "sorry. Just. Relieved and happy." She says shortly on choked breaths before letting out a laugh. 

Anne, reassured, returned the gesture, rubbing a thumb across Marcy's wrist. When Marcy finally calmed down, Anne broke the silence, "So... none of my flirting even registered, did it?" Anne said, a little disappointed. 

"I thought it was you just being your normal friendly self..." Marcy admitted. 

"Marcy..." Anne's voice was affectionate but a little exasperated. She pulled at the collar of  her borrowed sweatshirt, "You know I have this same sweatshirt in black in my backpack." 

"Sure but-"

"The first thing I did in your game was find justification to romance you by proxy..."

"So, okay- In retrospect-"

"Yesterday you wondered out loud what my tunic was made of and do you remember what I said?”

Marcy cringed, covering her face in embarrassment. She had no words to say in her defense. 

“I said 'girlfriend material' Marcy! I was being so obvious!" Anne said, not able to keep the laughter out of her voice. After taking a steadying breath she spoke in a more subdued tone, "I was starting to worry my first love was going to be unrequited."

Marcy nodded in sympathy. “I promise I know how that feels.” she said apologetically. They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Marcy timidly asked, '' So are we... girlfriends now?"  

Anne smiled, "I'd like to be..." she offered, tossing the question right back to Marcy. 

Marcy nodded, "me too..." she said, blushing a bit. Marcy wanted to leave it at that, but words tumbled out of her mouth, "and... you're really okay with me?"

Anne's eyes grew a little sad at the question, that it was one Marcy felt the need to ask. Anne reached up, cupping the side of Marcy's face gently. Her thumb rubbed at places where tears had run a few minutes ago. Then she reached up and pulled aside the locks of hair that hid the scar that put a notch through Marcy’s brow. Marcy flinched a bit as it was revealed, worried Anne would see the imperfection and change her answer. Instead Anne leaned up, kissing the healing scar with care. 

Art by PapyJr13 with assistance from Notepunk

She held the kiss for a moment before pulling back with a reassuring smile, "more than okay..."

Marcy smiled warmly at Anne, heart filled with joy. By now the sun had fully set, leaving them in the soft colorful glow of the mushrooms. 

A short while later, the girls were walking back towards the Plantar farmhouse side by side, hands laced together. Sprig was the first to spot them, hanging out on top of the slanted roof off the main tree of the house. "They're coming back!" he announced, hopping off the roof.

The Plantars met them out on the front porch. Marcy felt pretty embarrassed after the way she left, "hey everyone, so... uh. Okay, basically-" Marcy fumbled for words, "I'm sorry, about the smoke bomb by the way. It's just..."

Anne quirked a smile and pulled up Marcy's hand, "It went well everyone!" she summarized and a grateful Marcy nodded, scratching at the back of her head.  

Sprig hopped up onto Marcy's shoulder, "woo hoo! Congrats Marcy, a win for girl-likers everywhere"

Anne looked up, amused if confused, "what-"

"I'll explain later." Marcy promised. 

Polly, looking satisfied with herself nodded with sagely approval, "Excellent. Another Polly Plantar plan has gone off perfectly." she said, dusting her flippers off like she had had a hard day in the fields. 

"Yes, yes," Hop Pop said, stepping forward. "I'm very happy for both of you. Anne, I hope I don't have to give you the spiel about treating Marcy right, do I?" Hop Pop gave a playful raised eyebrow. 

Anne rolled her eyes a bit, "No worries H.P., Marcy is in good hands." Anne said looking over to Marcy and squeezing her hand.  

"Good." Hop Pop gave a satisfied nod. "Now go clear your stuff out of the basement."

"What? Why?" Anne frowned, a little outraged

"But-" Marcy objected. 

"No Buts!" Hop Pop announced, holding a finger in the air, "I may be a modern minded frog, but you two are dating. It's improper for you two to share a room, let alone a bed." Hop Pop explained, "if you were engaged, it might be different. But since I don't know of any dances happening tonight, don't see any shiny rocks, and don't remember tying any Sin Sai-"

"Sai Sin," Anne corrected. 

"Apologies," Hop Pop's voice turned genuinely apologetic before returning to its high and mighty cadence, "or tying any Sai Sin, I'm gonna go ahead and assume you two are just dating for now, right?"

---

Anne looked down at Bessie’s history while nestled into the Plantar family couch. Most of the house lights were off and only a little mushroom light was on next to the couch for her to read from. It’d only been a few minutes since everyone had settled in to sleep for the night. 

Despite Anne and Marcy’s protestations Hop Pop hadn’t budged on his decision. Anne was a little miffed about that, but she wasn’t willing to fight about it. Besides, they’d be on the road soon enough and could snuggle as much as they wanted. 

Anne got a goofy little grin on her face at the thought, distracting her from the surprisingly engaging tale of the family snail. 

From her right Anne heard the creaking of wood coming from the entrance to the basement.  The trapdoor lifted up and Marcy looked meekly up at Anne, “Oh, good you’re awake,” she whispered, and came crawling out with something clasped in her hands.

Anne swung her legs off the side of the couch, patting the seat next to her, “whatcha got there?”

Marcy obliged, sitting next to Anne, Anne instantly leaned against her shoulder. “Just a little gift…” she said nervously before holding out her hands and opening it. 

Tucked into Marcy’s hand was a coiled up leather cord that was looped through a copper clasp. That copper clasp held up a beautiful glowing blue crystal that Anne instantly recognized from their trip down the river. Anne reverently reached out, picking it up from the cord and holding it up to the light.

“I had an extra crystal, and it reminded me of your eyes when you're casting magic so…” Marcy fretted in explanation. 

“It’s beautiful Marcy.” Anne said and indulged her newest favorite hobby: kissing her girlfriend on the cheek and watching her melt into a blushing mess. Satisfied at Marcy’s flustered response, Anne went back to looking over the crystal, “were you going to confess with this?” Anne conjured a romantic scene of a hillside at sunset, Marcy having invited her up there.

Marcy shook her head as she recovered, scratching at the back of her head. “no- I don’t know if I honestly was ever going to gather up the confidence to confess to you…” Marcy admitted, “I was going to give this as a friend gift.” 

Anne blinked for a moment, before looking over at Marcy incredulously, “really?”

“Yeah, I just thought it would be nice, never figured out the words to say-” Marcy looked over at Anne who had now placed one hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. “What?”

Anne let out a breath, “you were going to give me this,” she held up the necklace, “tell me this reminded you of my eyes… but not in a romantic way?” Anne looked at Marcy with a mixture of adoration and mirth. 

Marcy pouted, now embarrassed for a different reason, “I- I obviously wasn’t going to say that part.” 

“No. You were just going to hand me a totally friendly platonic piece of-” Anne huffed out a laugh, “of handmade jewelry-hehehehe” Anne couldn’t stop herself and doubled over. 

Marcy frowned, reaching out for the necklace, “listen if you don’t like it-” on instinct Anne held the necklace out of reach, causing Marcy to scramble on top of her to try to get it. 

“Oh no, I love it, and I am going to cherish both it and this moment forever.” Marcy kept on pursuing the necklace but ended up just laying ontop of Anne. “But Marcy, you have to understand: If you had tried to give this to me before today,” she winked one eye closed and reached up with a free hand to poke Marcy’s nose, “we would have stayed friends for however many seconds it took for me to kiss your cute face.” Anne grinned seeing Marcy get flustered all over again and hid her face in Anne’s shoulder. Anne wrapped her arms around Marcy and said sincerely,  “Thank you for the gift Marcy, I love it.”

Marcy responded with a muffled ‘your welcome’. After a minute to recompose herself she got back up. They said their goodnights again before Marcy ducked down into the basement once more. 

Anne smiled fondly at the trap door before turning off the mushroom light and tried reading by crystal light. After a while she couldn’t focus on Hop Pop’s purple prose she shut her book and slipped her new treasured crystal into her backpack. 

She spent a minute or two trying to get comfortable before ultimately trying to face the couch and stuff her face into place where the seats met the backrest. 

---

An hour or two later, a door in the upper levels of the Plantar house creaked open but was shut quietly. Hop Pop peered down from the top of the steps down at Anne, sleeping soundly. On light feet he made his way down the stairs. He creeped his way over towards Anne. Seeing her not stirring he knelt down to her backpack and opened it. sitting on top was the thing he had come down seeking, with deft hands he pulled the box out and stood back up. 

He looked between Anne and the box with a heavy conscience. Even if he knew it was the right thing to do, that didn't make him feel any better about doing it. He looked down at the deceptively simple box and the supposed powers and dangers it promised. 

Then suddenly in front of him, Anne's body seemed to shine and then rip apart into shreds of paper, leaving behind an unoccupied pile of sheets and pillows. He staggered back in surprise just barely managing to suppress a yell. Then the music box started to glow an otherworldly blue before being ripped from his grasp and shot behind him. 

He whirled around for some kind of explanation and got it. Standing behind him, dressed in her sleeping shirt and shorts was Anne. She leaned against the threshold to the kitchen, the music box caught in one hand. She was staring daggers into him with eyes that glowed that same blue hue. 

"Evening Hopediah... trouble sleeping?"

---

Anne's empath sight could pick up the yellow fear coming off of Hop Pop at that moment. Whether that was a response to getting caught or Anne's imposing presence she wasn't sure. Hop Pop seemed to be at a loss for words, so Anne decided to supply her own, "hey, what's your favorite part about this moment?" she asked, gesturing between them.

Hop Pop frowned, "Anne-"

"Cause for me? Definitely the hypocrisy."

"Listen, can we not talk about this here?" he asked, looking down. Anne knew from experience those floorboards weren't sound proof. 

Anne nodded and gestured back towards the kitchen behind her Hop Pop walked in and Anne just flipped her position in the doorway, not trusting herself to blindly navigate the kitchen with empath sight on. Hop Pop stood in the kitchen, seeming to gather his thoughts, but Anne was in no mood to be patient, "so, want to explain why you were trying to steal from me in the dead of night?"

Hop Pop scowled skeptically at the accusation, “were you just waiting for me down here?”

“After those lies this morning? Thought I’d play a hunch,” she shrugged. Truth was she had just been up getting a snack after having trouble falling asleep, but he didn’t need to know that. “Your turn.”

Hop Pop sighed, "that box is dangerous Anne. There’s a reason that my ancestors dedicated several pages warning us about it."

“Not reason enough for any details though…” Anne sighed, she had suspected this was the case, kind of annoying to be right. "So that makes it alright to strand Marcy and me here with no way home?" 

"That box in the wrong hands could have disastrous consequences." Hop Pop countered, "and put everyone in danger."

"Well the plan isn't to hand it over to the first schmuck we stumble across." Anne said, a little offended. She'd learned her lesson with blind trust in the bazaar.

"... I know. That's not what I'm worried about..."

Anne paused. Not a lie. She frowned a bit, "are you worried about me? I mean..." she sighed, "I know we got off on the wrong foot but do you really think I'm dangerous? "

"No, no... After spending time with you, I can see you have a good heart Anne." he nodded. "It's just... as an adult I can't stand aside when-"

Anne lost a little focus as Hop Pop started lecturing on responsibility or whatever, stuck on his answers. She glanced down at the music box. Who was he worrying about getting this thing? Then a thought occurred to Anne and she took a short breath holding up a hand, "sorry, just wanted to circle back a second." she said, interrupting him. "When you were referring to 'the wrong hands'... you weren't referring to Marcy’s, right?" she asked it in a light, disbelieving tone. It was an absurd question, she felt ridiculous asking it. Then Anne saw the look on his face, and the turn in his aura and she didn't even need to feel the lie that was coming to know how he really felt.

“T̝̥̥̙͙h̯̯͎͕͙͚͝a̯͖t̤'̭̞͢ş̥̲̝̫̙̙͙ ̩̯͔͈̠̥ṉ̯̮̹ͅo̯̳̭t-̣̝̙̟̫ͅ”

"Oh... frog you were." Her heart filled with sadness in Marcy's place. 

"Listen-" 

"I can't believe you..." Anne said, voice incredulous. 

"Marcy is a very special kid and her talents need to be channeled productively-"

"I can't believe you." she said in a sneer, anger bubbling over. It was a struggle to keep her voice down. 

"-and the last thing she needs is to be seeking out some... ancient cursed power!" Hop Pop insisted, a little desperately, as if trying to convince himself.

Anne was barely listening. Outrage fogging over her mind. She let out an incredulous bitter laugh, "Marcy n’ Sprig warned me how superstitious people here were, but they don't know the half of it do they?" she shook her head, "what does she have to do to earn your trust!?"

Hop Pop shook his head, "that's not what this is about. I do trust Marcy, honest. She's family."

"Sure, you just think she's a ‘disaster’ waiting to happen." Anne countered, coldly. "Something to be managed like a beast."

“That’s not-” Hop Pop hesitated a moment before asking, "did she ever tell you what happened at Toad Tower?"

Anne rolled her eyes, "You mean when she saved herself and her three friends, including your grandson?" She questioned rhetorically. "Yeah, god forbid she be better equipped for a nightmare like that." Anne saw Hop Pop start to argue, but brushed the words aside, "save it," Dropping her empath sight, the room faded back into view,  "It's late, I'm tired, and I officially don't care about your reasons. So let me bottom line it for you mayor ."  Anne held up the music box, "first, not handing this over. This is the only lead me and Marcy have for getting home." She explained brokering no argument, "secondly..." she took a moment to breathe, "I won't tell Marcy about all this." she said, frowning. "partly because you gave me a second chance.. and I want to do the same..." Anne said, "and partly because we both know that if Marcy knew this was how you thought of her, it would break her heart." Anne said and saw that fact settle onto his shoulder. She grit her teeth, putting steel back into her voice. "but know this. If this box goes missing or 'accidently' breaks while we're staying here? I'll be sure to let her know." She let the threat hang in the air. 

After a pause Hop Pop nodded in acknowledgement.

Anne sighed, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "Alright. I've got a girlfriend to go cuddle, I'll see you in the morning." Anne turned back towards the living room when she heard a small objection. 

"That rule... wasn't a ruse to get you out here, I really think-" Hop Pop tried to explain. 

"that me and Marcy are mature enough to not rush into things just cause we're in the same bed?" Anne asked, glancing back, "Me too, glad you agree." Anne turned and gave a half hearted wave, "Goodnight Hopediah"  

Anne felt a frustration deep in her heart as she telekinetically retrieved her backpack. Anne slung on her backpack and flipped open the trap door, trying to keep herself from causing a clangor. She slipped down the stairs and reached up to close the trap door behind her but caught sight of something in the corner of her eyes. 

Sitting on the stairs, wringing his hat in his hands, was Sprig, tucked up on one of the upper stairs. He had a worried, conflicted expression on his face as he made desperate eye contact with Anne. She felt all of her anger almost immediately peter out into regret. Sprig was a good friend, and had saved Marcy when the rest of the town had left her to her fate. Anne searched for some kind of words of comfort she could give, but couldn't find them. This was just... bad . Bad and complicated. She let out a sigh, and gave an apologetic smile up at him, "Good night Little Man." She whispered before pulling the trap door closed. 

"Wha- Sprig?" She heard Hop Pop call come from the kitchen followed by scampering from the stairs. 

Anne continued down into the basement, backpack in hand and started to make her way across the room, navigating by the dim light coming in through the basement window. Marcy was resting peacefully in her bed, breathing softly and dead to the world. Anne looked fondly down at her new girlfriend. Anne wondered idly how she had gone so long without noticing how pretty Marcy was. 

Anne shook at Marcy's shoulder and watched her friend blink back sleep to look up at her. As she recognized Anne through the haze of sleep her expression brightened, "Anne?" She sat up rubbing her eyes "... what's up?" She looked around for some cause or reason. 

"Hey... I was having trouble sleeping on the couch, mind if I join you?" Anne whispered.

"Oh... I don't, but..." she pouted, looking up. 

"Hop Pop and I had a heart to heart." Anne lied with a reassuring smile. "I don't think he'll object." 

"Oh!" Marcy smiled and scooted back to make room, holding up the sheets for Anne slipped in. Anne settled in before she sought out Marcy's hand to hold. Marcy accepted, face glowing but still sleepy, “goodnight Anne…” Marcy said before quickly drifting back to sleep.

Anne rubbed her thumb gently along the side of Marcy's hand as she felt the last drops of her sour mood seep out of her. 

Marcy had grown a lot here in Wartwood, and Anne would never again see Marcy as her hapless charge; but it was nice to know there were still some things she could protect her from. 

With that thought, she drifted off to sleep. 

---

Hop Pop woke up and felt his age. He had one of those nights so restless that it was hard to tell if he had slept at all. He couldn’t have gotten more than an hour or two of sleep. 

He had heard goings on downstairs for some time now. He forced himself to sit up and got ready for the morning. He climbed down the stairs slowly, in no rush to be reminded of last night. He rounded the bottom of the stairs and stood at the threshold to the kitchen. Polly was scarfing down a stack of pancakes with reckless abandon. Marcy had an empty plate by her, but was focused on writing in her journal. Anne was sidled up next to her watching her work.

Polly spotted him first and waved with a mouthful of pancakes, "morning Hop Poph." she swallowed down the bite. 

"Morning... Sprig not up yet?" Hop Pop looked around for his grandson. 

"Not yet!" Polly answered between bites, "he's missing out, these are great!"

Anne frowned, looking up to the ceiling, pushing away from the table, "... I'll bring some up to him." she said and started to make up a plate. 

That wasn't a surprise. Sprig had holed up in his room last night after he overheard the unpleasantness, unwilling to talk to him.

Hop Pop sighed and walked over to the chair on Marcy's other side. She was in a 'dead to the world' focus, only shaken out of it from Anne giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head before heading towards the stairs. Marcy was pleasantly startled by the action and looked after Anne as she left.  When she turned back she finally noticed Hop Pop and smiled, "Oh, good morning Hop Pop- woah, you... don't look like you had a good sleep." 

Hop Pop looked up at his eldest grandchild and the genuine concern in her eyes. 

 

 

 

Toad Tower lurched to one side as grotesque vines climbed up it. Encroaching, creeping, one dislodged stone at a time. Desperate swings from defenders tried to fight it off, but the few who struck true were not enough and the less fortunate were pulled from the tower. Centuries of oppressive masonry being undone in minutes. 

One of the herons who haunted his dreams pecked at the ground for victims, and for the first time in his life Hop Pop felt a kinship with the toads of the tower as he recalled that dark night the herons had attacked Wartwood. 

Sprig was talking to him, explaining what was going on, but his eyes settled down on Marcy. Worry seeped in for the girl, her face half bloodied and looking pale. He stepped forward to get a closer look when she spoke, expression desperate for understanding. 

"The toads... were going to hurt them…"

"... Hop Pop?" Marcy frowned in the present, concern growing. 

Hop Pop smiled a tired smile and shook his head, "I really didn't," he agreed. "Had a bit too much tea before bed again."

"Black tea or herbal tea?"

"Black tea."

Marcy tsked shaking her head disapprovingly, "black tea has caffeine in it Hop Pop." 

"I know, I know. My own fault..." he agreed, looking over to her journal, "what are you working on kiddo?"

Marcy looked back at her notes, "planning out supplies for the trip... hard to figure out everything we'll need when it might be more than we can carry..." she said with a hum. 

Hop Pop nodded, "I've been thinking about that... you know if I wasn't mayor now we'd all be making the trip together, right?"

"I know." Marcy said, a little sad, but totally understanding, "can't exactly abandon the town for over a month minimum."

Hop Pop smiled, she was such a reasonable girl, "Well, during my trip the other week I passed by a wheelwright with a number of used family wagons for sale. I was thinking sometime this week we could go and buy one for you and Anne to use on your trip."

"Family wagons, those are those wagons with a living space inside right? Aren't those expensive?" Marcy asked, excited but skeptical, "and what would we use pull it?"

"I'd lend you Bessie." Hop Pop said, without hesitation. "And they're expensive, but... I want you two to be safe out there on the road."

Marcy's eyes shot open with surprise. "Really, you'd be alright with that?"

"I've got the mayoral snail now, and I trust you to keep Bessie well cared for. I don't want the two of you having to camp outside every night. Plus you'll get there and back quicker." Hop Pop listed the benefits. He took Marcy's hand in his own, patting it lightly. "Just... promise me you two will try to stay out of trouble, alright?" 

Marcy readily nodded, "of course!" she smiled, then eyes shot open as she looked down at her work, "this opens up so many options! " she flipped to a new page and started to make notes, "We'll be able to carry way more supplies with us!" She started to make a new chart. 

Hop Pop nodded, making suggestions for what they might need and what features they should look for while wagon shopping. The morning passed by quietly like so many others…

Notes:

I hope no one forgot that Anne spent a very formative month and a half with Val following the bazaar, she may not be a thief but she is still definitely a rogue. 

Man writing all the fluff and bantar for the first half of the chapter, knowing where it ended was going to be a body blow. Speaking of though, I have been excited for this moment between Marcy and Anne since basically I started writing this fic, so I knew I was going to have fun with that. But I did not anticipate how much fun I was going to have writing the bantar in the family meeting.

Speaking of Hop Pop I do want to make one thing clear: Hop Pop has not been pretending to care about Marcy since Toad Tower, no matter what Anne believes. He deeply cares about Marcy as part of his family. He also has a healthy fear of what she is capable of. These two concepts coexist inside him. 

Just some quick Annealysis, I wanted to point something out. Despite how forward and confident she comes off in this chapter: she still doesn't confess to Marcy until she knows Marcy feels the same way. She was nervous and worried about how this all might pan out, she just didn't let that fear stop her like it did Marcy. 

---

Feedback

To start, thank you to everyone who wished me well with recovering from Covid and assured me it was alright to take a break. I'm still pretty low energy, but all my other symptoms have gone without too much trouble. 

@JoeEngland Re: Marcy leaning into the 'Lady of the Crows' persona.
I've thought about this, but ultimately I don't think so. Marcy is pretty far removed from her escapist mindset, and while I could see her maybe embracing that for other reasons, I don't think she'd do so earnestly. The plague mask was a fun reference to it though, good catch!

 @Anonymous Re: Do Maddie's sisters still resent Marcy for taking up Maddie's time
No, not nearly as much. Maddie has a similar realization to canon after the events of the chapter, realizing her sisters must have really missed her to have gone to such lengths to play with her. The triplets appreciate Marcy for saving their family and are okay with her coming over to hang out.

@NamePending Re: Commenting about how Marcy should have have shown her calamity power a bit in chapter 1. 
So, actually she did! Just like the show, it was a blink and you miss it line. 

Her raven dark hair shined with a halo from the growing pyre behind her. She towered over near everyone in the clearing, ragged breath shaking her entire body. Eyes shone with supernatural green light. “I-is everyone al-”

I tried to write that moment of her running towards the mantis like she was thinking just a liiiittle bit faster than one could reasonably expect as a small foreshadowing of Ram. This isn't meant to be like a 'ha! wrong!' just wanted to share this neat little factoid. 

@CanOfWorms Re: Have I ever played amongus?
Yup!

Finally @Everyone who liked that Anne took her gay realization in stride
I'm really glad everyone liked that direction cause honestly I came upon it completely by accident. Originally by the start of this chapter Anne was going to still be way more dense about both her own feelings and Marcy's feelings and the confession scene in this chapter was going to be a lot more of her coming to terms with it and being more hesitant. 
Honestly the reason it turned out how it did was cause the Anne arc ended up being about 2 chapters longer than it originally was going to be when I first outlined this fic. Before 'The Beginning of the End' aired, the Glowstone Cavern chapter was going to be much less emotionally fraught, with Anne just coming to respect that Marcy didn't need Anne constantly protecting her anymore. Then this chapter was immediately going to follow it with Anne being much more blindsighted by walking in on Marcy talking to the Plantars. 
But by the time I was writing Chapter 18 I kind of realized that Anne has had  a lot more time with Marcy, and they had cleared up a lot of the barriers between them. And I just couldn't see her being totally blindsided anymore in this chapter. 
Glad I did it too, cause man this dynamic is fun to write!

---

Final Thoughts

Alright, two chapters left in the season. Thanks for everyone, new and old for coming along for the ride. If all goes to plan we should have another chapter next week. 

Have a good one and thanks for reading.  

Chapter 20: Spirit of the Year

Summary:

Marcy gets voted for Frog of the Year!

 - Marcy's Journal -

Day 99 in Amphibia,

Anne and I are dating now!!!!!!! Anne likes me back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so. happy. I can't believe it. God it was so embarrassing when she found out, but ANNE KISSED ME ON THE CHEEK. It was so sweet and romantic and I love her, I love her so much!!! It feels so good to write that without coding it in my head first.

We've gotten everything we need for our trip and it's going to be amazing, me and Anne on one big adventure to restore the music box. While I'm excited to find Sashy too, I'm so excited to be able to have some alone time with Anne. Even if she has made a hobby of flustering me :/

I'm going to miss the Plantars while we're away. Sprig is probably the most upset, I don't think it really sunk in that I'd be gone for a while until we went shopping for the family wagon. Postal options in Amphibia seem pretty unreliable, so me and Maddie made a more potent paper golem potion so we can send messages back and forth. I promised to detail all the adventures I'm going on and he seemed comforted by that. 

Plus, we still have a few weeks left.

---

Marcy woke up as she had many times in the last few weeks, to the feeling of Anne's arms wrapped around her accompanied sonorous snoring. Unlike most of that time however, she didn't feel any guilt or conflict in enjoying those things. They had been girlfriends for a few days now, and each morning Marcy woke up like this, warm, protected, and content. Unfortunately she knew this morning they had to get up earlier. 

Marcy reached up for her phone and checked the time while trying not to wake Anne up. Yep, they would have to get up sooner rather than later. A mischievous thought passed through Marcy's mind: to wake Anne up with a kiss. After a moment of thinking, and then overthinking she decided against it. She didn't want Anne to be half asleep and groggy during their first kiss. Or first kiss as girlfriends anyway. Instead she opted to reach up and carefully jostle Anne's shoulder. "Hey Anne, we gotta get up soon." Marcy intoned softly. 

"mmmph..." Anne mumbled out unintelligently. Rather than waking up she readjusted her hold on Marcy, pulling her in closer and resting her chin on top of Marcy's head. 

Marcy felt herself flush with embarrassment, but couldn't bring herself to force the issue. Instead she set a five minute timer on her phone so that it could force the issue for her. Timer set, she curled up into Anne, letting herself, however briefly, enjoy Anne's arms around her. The five minutes passed by all too quickly and Anne stirred to wakefulness. They started their morning routine, brushing teeth, getting dressed, making breakfast. They were all heading into town early that day since-

Marcy sat on the bench with Sprig and Polly while Anne took a hand at driving Bessie towards town. She had finished reading Bessie's owners manual last night and wanted to get some more practice in before they headed out of the valley. Better they were both able to handle Bessie in case anything happened to Marcy. Anne was very much a natural with the snail in a way that Marcy hadn't been. Which wasn't a huge surprise, between Domino, the weasels and now Bessie, Anne had a natural way with animals.

"So they're announcing Frog of the Year today?" Anne called over her shoulder as they approached the edge of town.

"Yep, who did you guys all vote for?"

Sprig made a tight lipped motion with his hands and shook his head, "can't say, might jinx it." Sprig explained seriously.

"Like they might not win?" Marcy asked curiously. The valley had all sorts of odd superstitions.

Polly shook her head, "Or else they might die."

"Kind of puts a damper on the whole event." Sprig added, "Poor old man Henderson... saved a bunch of us kids from the millipede attack and got carried away by a bird the day before the announcement." Both Polly and Sprig looked downcast at the memory.

"Alrighty then, so no saying anything until the announcement." Anne confirmed, "Excited about your generator, Marcy? You finally worked out the kinks for it right?"

"Yes!" Marcy said with a little buzz of excitement, "the battery potion is all ready to go! It'll take a little while to get everyone's houses set up, and longer before we get enough artisans to start making products that utilize it, but I got a few proof of concept inventions to show people." Marcy grinned, thinking of the few things she'd managed to reinvent with Loggle's help and a bit of transmutation. The big draw would be the merry-go-round, the most recent masterpiece of the woodsmith. "I hope I can convince whoever wins to let me show them off a bit at the party."

They all arrived in town soon enough. Everyone was gathered near town hollow to hear the announcement. Marcy almost tripped coming off of Bessie, but Anne instinctually caught her on the way down. "Watch your step there cutie," and winked causing Marcy to blush and sputter trying to respond. Them officially becoming girlfriends had only encouraged Anne's flirting, which was mostly wonderful, but was also critically embarrassing. Something that Anne saw as a perk rather than a bug.

"Ugh, gross." Polly said from her bucket and Marcy stepped away self consciously.

Marcy picked up Polly as they made their way up to the chittering crowd. 

Hop Pop took the stage in his fancy mayoral attire, clothes that were just slightly less sallow and were made in the last year instead of the last century. He walked up to the podium and cleared his throat to quiet the crowd. "Hello everyone! Once a year we gather together to vote for Frog of the year. To celebrate a member of our community we felt has made selfless contributions around town." He held up a pristine envelope, "without further ado, I will announce this year's frog of the year."

Marcy grinned, tapping Polly's bucket rhythmically in excitement. Marcy knew how much it would mean to Hop Pop to win Frog of the year. The Plantars, being the quiet farming family they hadn't, won in his lifetime. Hop Pop opened the envelope and looked inside. From the smile on his face Marcy knew he had won! Was that... a tear? Okay, reel it back Hop Pop, show a little humility.

"Well, it is my pride and pleasure to announce Wartwood's frog of the year is Marcy!"

Marcy stared, kind of dumbfounded for a moment which was only intensified when the crowd of locals started cheering and clapping around her.

Sprig and Polly cheered along with them. Anne gingerly plucked Polly from a stunned Marcy's arms, "go on dude, they're waiting." Anne encouraged and Marcy went up, taking the stage in a daze as she continued to try and wrap her mind around what was happening. Hop Pop ceded the podium, clapping proudly along with everyone else. Seeing the assemblage of Wartwood in front of her, Marcy smiled wide.

"Thank you everyone, I'm really honored that you chose me..." Marcy said with a nod. "Surprised a bit, but definitely honored." Marcy let out an anxious laugh. "Sorry, I really don't know what to say…"

Most of the crowd nodded at that and were starting to disperse for the most part. Marcy was confused for a moment before she heard a bit of chatter, as people were talking with excitement about the party later tonight. Then the full scope of the situation settled on Marcy's shoulders. This was a once a year party that bridged the gap between the firefly formal and the harvest festival. Everyone was counting on her ability to host a party.

"Oh Frog..."

---

Anne was among the last of the crowd to keep up her applause. She was genuinely proud of Marcy for pulling this off. After hearing everything she had done for the town, it was nice to see her being appreciated. It probably helped that Marcy had saved the town on two separate occasions since Anne had arrived.

"Yes! For the record I voted for Marcy." Sprig said proudly pointing a thumb at himself

Anne rolled her eyes, "Shocking…" Anne deadpanned before looking back to Marcy. That was when Anne sensed something was wrong. Marcy had that wide eyed stare that she only got when she was seconds away from having a breakdown. "Oh jeez, Marcy's freaking out. "

"What?" Ivy wandered up next to Anne, "oh, huh, but why? She should be excited! She gets to host a party for everyone!"

Ah, there it was. "Okay yeah, Marcy does not handle being the center of attention well..." Anne said, now worried for her girlfriend.

"I don't know Anne, Marcy often gives speeches to the townsfolk..." Sprig said a little skeptically, but looked up at Marcy, who was now pacing about the stage, fretting.

Anne nodded, she had to admit, Marcy had gotten a lot better at public speaking, "Sure, but that's when she's, like, explaining something, right?" Sprig nodded in confirmation as Hop Pop, having caught onto Marcy's distress, was trying to calm her down. "This is... different. As host she'll be expected to do small talk, maintain eye contact, juggle a dozen different people’s attention…" Anne said with a little frown. "Trying to host the entire town is gonna be... stressful."

An assortment of Marcy's closest friends and acquaintances in Wartwood were all that remained of the crowd, and so were fortunately the only ones who witnessed the newest frog of the year work herself into a nervous wreck.

"Yeah, that tracks..." Maddie nodded, turning to Ivy, "remember how she hid out during the election celebration?"

"Oh, poor dear..." Felicia said with a sympathetic tilt of her head. Aldor grunted in agreement.

Anne stepped out in front of the group and up towards the stage. Marcy had been sat down on the edge of the stage by Hop Pop, patting her hand to keep her calm. Wouldn't want her going on a rampage, some bitter part of Anne thought, but she kept it out of her expression. "Hey Mar-Mar, you doing alright?" Anne asked, mostly rhetorically,

Marcy nodded, taking a deep breath, "yeah, just... you know. Trying to brainstorm some ideas for the party tonight." Marcy said, half to herself.

Anne nodded, "Gotcha... want some help?" Anne offered, mostly as a formality. 

Marcy opened her mouth to refuse the offer out of habit, but she looked over to Hop Pop briefly before nodding towards Anne, "I could probably use it..." she admitted.

Anne smiled, glad that Marcy was learning to accept help when it was offered. Anne heaved herself up on stage and took a commanding presence, "Alright, we got a lot of stuff to do before tonight! Aldor! Stumpy! Do you think you can help cater things for tonight?"

Aldor gave a nod and Stumpy a salute, "can do."

"Felicia, would you mind helping out with the drinks for the evening? You don't need to be serving, just make sure everything stays stocked?

Felicia nodded, "I have some old barrels of fermented tea that might do the trick for the adults, and that sweet Thai ice tea of yours would be great for the kids." she mused

"Alright great, now-" Anne looked around for who else could be of help.

Marcy stood up, looking a little regretful, "Wait, just a little help. The party is supposed to be planned by me..." she protested weakly, heart not really in it. 

"You are planning it," Anne disagreed, "you're just delegating! After all, you have that important project to work on."

Marcy blinked, "What important project?" she paused, "Or rather... which one?" 

"Well, I was thinking..." Anne grinned, "the people out here probably have never seen a fireworks show right? Don't you think that would be a pretty great finale to the festivities?"

"Anne I... gunpowder doesn't exist in Amphibia!" Marcy protested, "I wouldn't even know where to begin to get enough sulfur to..." Marcy's eyebrows knitted together in that cute way they always did when she started to get an idea. "I mean, even if we did use..." Anne watched as the spark came into Marcy's eyes. Marcy turned away, "hey, Polly, Maddie, want to help me reinvent fireworks?"

"Sure," Maddie said with a casual shrug. 

"What are they?" Polly asked, a little more critically. 

"Art you make with explosions."

"Sold!" Polly said with an excited grin

Marcy carefully got down from the stage before looking around at everyone, "and you're all alright with helping out?" There was a round of nods and agreement at the question and Anne could see Marcy really start to relax, "Alright, thank you everyone. Look forward to the fireworks tonight!" Marcy retrieved Polly and headed off into town. She flashed Anne an appreciative smile before departing. 

Once Marcy was away, Anne and Hop Pop shared a look. Since the night he tried to steal from her, they hadn't really been speaking with each other. But Anne knew they both wanted tonight to go well for Marcy's sake. Even if Anne didn't like why Hop Pop wanted it to go well. So the two of them set off to give people tasks. It helped to have the mayor's authority to get things done quickly. 

"Hey Anne, how can we help?" Sprig and Ivy had been the last of the group to remain.

"Well there's plenty of stuff to help with, but I was actually hoping you two would help with a secret gift for Marcy. I'll probably need your wilderness skills."

"Sure," Ivy said with a shrug.

Anne explained the surprise and what they would need to gather, it wouldn't be easy. Like many things in Amphibia, if it was similar to something from earth, it was bigger and or deadlier here. Still Anne was undeterred, and thanked them for their help. 

"Man, you sure are invested in tonight going well." Sprig smiled appreciatively. 

"Definitely, everything has to go perfectly."

"Wait, why?" Ivy said a little skeptically. “Doesn’t ”

"Cause this is probably gonna be the last big event Marcy has in Wartwood before we leave," Anne explained and the two frogs looked a little bummed about that, "so I want it to be special, just a really happy memory to look back on so she doesn't leave with any regrets." Anne said, channeling her girlfriend as she started rambling, "and if everything goes well, and she's comfortable with it, we could maybe share our first kiss as girlfriends." Anne grinned wide, then paused as she realized she had said the last part out loud. She looked down at Ivy and Sprig who were smirking up at her mischievously. "I will give you five copper each if you never mention that last part to Marcy,"

"Not a chance." Ivy said with a shake of her head.

Sprig nodded, "This is way too funny."

"And sweet" Ivy amended.

"But we'll keep quiet for tonight, right Ivy?"

"Yeah, definitely teasing you both about this later though."

Despite their shared pursuit of needling Anne, she thought it was adorable that the two of them were so clearly on the same wavelength. She'd have to play cupid when she wasn't preoccupied with her own love life. "Fair enough, I didn't have ten coppers anyways," she admitted as the three of them headed off towards the forest.

---

"So they fly high into the sky and just explode in color!?" Polly asked, eyes wide with excitement. "That sounds incredible!"

Marcy grinned as she pushed the door open to the militia's supply annex, "it's a pretty spectacular sight." Marcy grinned, recalling warm summer nights in LA, gathering with the rest of the neighborhood at the school field to watch the fireworks display. Anne, Sasha and Marcy would all share a big picnic blanket and watch the fireworks together while the parents would mill about a little bit away. As they walked through to the supply annex, Marcy spotted two of Wartwood's newest residents. Percy and Braddock were standing next to the little pen for the weasel babies, watching as the three viciously chased a head of cabbage, 'hunting it' as they took bites out of it. 

Maddie stared suspicious daggers at the two as they entered.

Seeing Marcy, the two straightened up. Braddock stood tall despite her limp and slammed a hand over her chest, the unofficial salute of the militia since Marcy had suggested it as a possible example. Percy at first went to do a toad salute, a hand to forehead, but seeing Braddock's example quickly switched over to a hand over chest. 

"H-hello Sergeant," Braddock said, clearly nervous. 

"Congrats on winning Frog of the Year!" Percy said, with a voice clearly trying to sound overly chipper to cover up for being nervous. 

Marcy scratched at the back of her head awkwardly, as she sat Polly down on a nearby table "thanks, it was a big surprise, considering I'm neither a frog nor have been here a full year." She said awkwardly, "don't mind us, just requisitioning some supplies," Marcy held up her hands as if to show she meant no harm before heading towards the back. "And don't worry about calling me sergeant..." she said, distractedly. 

From behind her Marcy could hear the two toads whispering to each other. Marcy had hoped for a quick in and out, but whoever was charged with keeping the supplies organized had not followed the guidelines she had set. So she started to search the boxes one by one instead. 

"Um, Sergeant- I mean, Marcy um..." Braddock started, to Percy's whispered distress.

"Hm...?" okay they didn't do it alphabetically either, that's a pain... 

"Well, I just was wondering... um, would you mind talking about... what happened?"

"What happened?" Marcy questioned back, too distracted by her task to pick up on the meaning. 

"Back at the tower..." Braddock said awkwardly. 

Marcy felt a chill run up her spine at the mention of it. Her throat closed up as her hand started to shake involuntarily. 

"What do you mean?" Polly asked, confused. "Herons attacked, Marcy escaped. It’s not that complicated." the atmosphere in the room shifted, "why'd everyone get quiet."

Marcy took a steadying breath for herself. "They're talking about the electrical tower, Polly." Marcy lied, "I should probably talk to them about it, make sure there's nothing wrong before tonight..."

"Oh… kay?..." Polly said, looking between everyone. 

"Hey Maddie, this might take a bit, would you mind taking Polly and scouting out a place to test out fireworks?" Marcy looked over, keeping up a neutral mask. Maddie inclined her head in understanding. 

"Come on, if it's gonna explode we should find a clearing where there's less things to catch fire." Maddie rasped, "I'll send a messenger bird when I find a place." she called back to Marcy.

"Yeah... okay." Polly said and looked suspiciously over to Marcy until she passed out of view. 

Marcy waited until the door clunked shut before regarding the two toads in the room with her. "You know... I thought we had all come to a silent agreement to not bring that up." Marcy said gesturing between the toads and herself, “Live and let live?”

Braddock nodded in understanding, "I know it's... I want to know where we stand?" she gestured towards herself and Percy, who waved a hand awkwardly. "Like... you did what you did, but you also saved my life after the fact?" she said looking genuinely confused. "I just... are you sorry or..." Braddock flinched as Marcy scowled at her. 

"... well before I answer, can I ask you a question?" she paused but didn't really wait for an answer, "you've met my friend Anne, right? Comes by to help out with the weasels?"

"Yeah..." Braddock smiled, "she's actually why I wanted to talk to you, she insisted you’re, well... that you were a good person..."

Marcy nodded, smiling a bit at the thought, then looked back up at Braddock, "...so tell me, do you feel sorry about stabbing her?" Marcy watched with a little more satisfaction then perhaps was healthy as the blood drained from Braddock's face.

"You found out?"

"I've known since before I ever met you.” Marcy shrugged, “Grime was so proud of you," 

"I, it was an order I didn't know..." Braddock sputtered paused, looking down at the source of her limp. "But... you healed me anyway?"

Marcy took a stifled breath in, "Yeah..." Marcy nodded "to answer your question, 'am I sorry?' If you mean ‘do I feel bad?’" she let out a choked breath, "yeah. Of course. I didn't want to hurt anyone," she took a deep breath in, wiping a tear away.

A look of guilt passed by the two toad's faces as the boogeyman they had been living in fear of for a month and a half looked like the vulnerable child they actually were.

"but if you mean, ‘do I regret it?’" she shook her head, "regret saving my friends from whatever cruel intentions your commander had? No. No if we went back to that moment, I would do the exact same thing." She meant it as a threat, but it came out as a weary promise. "As long as you're no threat to the people I care about, you have nothing to fear from me. I don't want to hurt anyone." Marcy explained, leaning down and popping the lid to a crate, "Now, if you excuse me." she heaved the crate up, "I'm gonna go experiment with these boom shrooms."

Marcy walked past the two speechless toads towards the door, bumping it open and walking outside. She leaned her back up against the door to take a moment to calm down. A few moments passed by before a little paper bird fluttered down to Marcy, landing on top of the crate and unfolding itself. Maddie had found a nice open space for them to work from. 

Marcy smiled wearily. right, a little reminder that her little witch friend hadn't been lost up on that horrid tower wall. She took a moment to remember Ivy's enthusiastic ambushes and indomitable ambition. Finally, Sprig's grinning face; rolling dice, playing games and leading Marcy through the forest on foraging hikes. 

All of them were safe and sound here in Wartwood. 

"Hey Miss Frog of the Year! Looking forward to the party tonight!" Mrs. Croaker called out from atop her giant ladybug mount. 

Marcy waved back and took one final breath to calm herself. She pushed herself from the wall and then strode out back out of town.

---

"Hey Marcy, are you ready to go?" Anne said from outside the bathroom. 

After an afternoon of experimenting with reinventing fireworks, Marcy had looked a bit of a fright. "Just about Anna Banana." Marcy came out in her usual clothes. She probably could have gotten something nice for the occasion, but things had run a bit late with getting enough fireworks prepared for the night. 

She came out to see her sorceress girlfriend waiting for her. Eyes brightening at Marcy's arrival spawning butterflies in her stomach.

"Come on Marcy, we're going to miss everything!" Sprig called from the front door. 

"Miss everything?" Marcy asked but Anne got behind her and started to push her towards the door.

It was a quick ride to town, Marcy was planning on asking about what all had been planned for the festivities, she had gotten so wrapped up in her project that she had just sort of never ended up checking in. However she was instead distracted by the fact that the little icebox from the kitchen had been hoisted into Bessie's trunk compartment, and 'it's a surprise' was the only answer she got when she asked anyone what it was for.

When they arrived in town, everything had already started without them. Marcy pretty much instantly grasped that her family had set up the celebration to be more like a festival than a social party. Food, games, and various attractions had been set up all around downtown Wartwood. Marcy dismounted as Maddie and Ivy ran over from where they had been hanging out

"You like it?" Anne asked, bumping into her shoulder as they started to walk around. "Figured it would take off some of the pressure talk to everyone."

"Hey Marcy, great party!" a Wartwoodian passed by with a bag full of minced popcorn. 

Marcy nodded, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she’d been holding. "This is great. I think, is there any kind of itinerary or,"

"Well," Hop Pop said, gesturing off towards the center of town, "just the fireworks in a couple of hours and of course throwing the switch on your electrical tower."

Marcy's eyes looked over to the masterpiece of her public works projects. There was a large wooden cage crafted by loggle at the base where a trio of captured zapapeedles were ranches. The bottom of the cage was a copper bottom that led to a pole of the same material. This led up to the alchemical battery she had made, it was a swirling blue potion with yellow stripes that seemed to move with every new charge of electricity. At the very top was a prototype lightning gun that was a collaboration between herself, Polly, and Loggle. Polly and Marcy had worked out the design while Loggle had done the actual crafting 

Marcy walked over where a big industrial sized switch had been installed to actually activate the distribution of electricity across the power lines. Currently the powerlines just led down to the small number of electronics that she had produced with Loggle's help. With any luck, interest in them would help the old woodsmith drum up some business. 

Marcy being the second tallest resident in Wartwood drew the attention of some folk who started to crowd around them. Marcy turned to them feeling a little nervous, but her friends and family gathered around her in support. "Hello everyone!" she called out to the now awaiting crowd. "Thank you all for coming! This behind me is the prototype for the project I had told you about a little over a month ago." Marcy explained proudly, "it's not fully ready yet, but I hope that in time it will make everyone's lives easier." Marcy grinned, grabbing the switch, and trying to dramatically flip it down one handed. Only it was too stuck for her. She moved onto two-handing it, then when that was too much she stuck her foot on the side of the wooden cage to give herself leverage.

"Need some help Mar-Mar?" Anne offered awkwardly.

"No I. Got. It!" with one last heave she managed to pull the switch down and almost fell but was caught in the waiting arms of her girlfriend. A few sparks jumped from the various pieces of equipment as the flip was switched and all around the little electric devices she had prepared came to life. The most obvious of which was a small merry-go-round that started to turn and sing out a little music box tune. 

There was a number of impressed titters as people crowded around closer to get a look at everything. Marcy started to explain the various devices to anyone. To her surprise, more than a few of the adults jumped on the merry-go-round, not bothering to wait for anyone to operate it, just jumping and hanging off whatever available seat or pole that was available. Marcy was having a great time just explaining things to people. 

At some point Anne, who had heard all this before, slipped away to get food for both of them. 

Soon enough people had learned about the new devices to start explaining their purpose to the new people who came over to check them out. Marcy took a step back, feeling a little drained, only to be met by Anne and the other World Hoppers, all carrying dinner from the buffet. The biggest surprise for Marcy was the slices of pizza that looked like they had come fresh from the mall food court. "Pizza? How..."

"It was a team effort." Anne said modestly, "the dough and oven from Mr. Flour, cheese from Mrs. Croaker's dairy farm, and tomato sauce courtesy of Petey and yours truly." Marcy took up her wooden board of a plate and started to dig in, finding herself fairly famished. 

She listened as Ivy and Sprig started to spill the beans on some of the games they had scouted out earlier in the day. Maddie meanwhile made cryptic references to what the fireworks show would entail, entirely encouraged by Polly, which Marcy neither confirmed nor denied. 

They had gone back for seconds and Marcy thanked Aldor, Stumpy, and Felicia for catering the event. She got a little iced tea while she was there before she started to tour around the festival with her friends. Anne and Marcy walked hand in hand for most of it. 

They came across the marketplace, filled with various carnival games. This included a dunk tank that worked weirdly in that frogs volunteered to be dunked by their friends. The water was kept at a comfortable warm temperature to make it more of a refreshing dip than a chilling dunk like it was back on Earth. Sprig, Ivy, and Polly all piled up onto the dunk tank plank, Maddie seemed hesitant. 

"Maddie, do you not want to join them?" Anne asked as she tossed a sand filled hacky-sack up and down in the air.

"Sure, but I kinda got a few water soluble curses on my person, so if I got dunked, it would probably get pretty messy." she said, a little skeptically. 

"I can hold onto them if you like." Marcy offered, opening her shoulder bag. 

Maddie thought about it a moment before she started to pull out curses from every nook and cranny on her person. Two were hidden in her hair, three from her front two pockets, three from a secret pocket on the back. By the end Marcy felt a noticeable shift in her balance as she hoisted her bag up. Maddie joined her frog friends up on the plunging board. Marcy and Anne took turns dunking the four frogs, who would quickly reset everything and then await to be dunked again. 

At around the fourth reset, Anne got a little mischievous grin, she nudged Marcy in a 'watch this' sort of gesture. She waited for Sprig to reset the board and as they all scrambled to climb out of the water, Anne used her magic to dunk them all again. 

"Sprig, you didn't set it back all the way!" Polly complained 

"Gotta get it all the way up, like this." Ivy demonstrated pushing the board up.  They all started to get back up only for Anne to dunk them again. 

Both Sprig and Ivy worked to make sure the board was set up properly, but Maddie was glancing suspiciously back at their human companions. Marcy and Anne had both begun snickering, but hadn't noticed Maddie scrutinizing them. When Anne dunked the other three for the time Maddie pointed accusingly at their human friends shouting, "Cheaters! Anne's using magic to keep dunking us before we get up there!" she rasped out a shout. 

Scandalized, the four frogs came out of the pool and began corralling Marcy and Anne onto the dunk tank plank. Marcy awaited the dunking in solemn acceptance, while Anne on the other hand decided to egg on their companions. "Come on! Bet you four couldn't hit the broadside of a barn."

"I'm starting to understand why humans do this out of malice..." Ivy said before all four of the frogs started to hurl the sandbags at the target. 

Marcy braced herself to be dunked, but after the first volley failed to do so cracked open her eyes. All four of them were heaving sandbags at the target, some missed, but others stoke true. They should have been dunked.

Suspicious, Marcy leaned back on the bench to look behind the dunk tank target. A blue barrier was positioned just behind the target so every successful shot caused the target to bounce into it without dunking them. Marcy, grinned amused by her girlfriend's mischief, but did feel bad for their frog friends. Mid jeer Marcy reached down for Anne's hand, lacing their fingers together. Anne quit her jeering for a moment looking at Marcy in question. Marcy gave her a playfully judge-y look, nodding back to their younger friends. Anne pouted but reluctantly dropped the spell. 

Polly grabbed a bag, hopped up, spun herself in the air for momentum, and hurled the bag center target. Both Anne and Marcy plunged down into the water, though both of them were too big for the basin, so they didn’t get fully submerged. A round of cheers went up from the frogs as Anne and Marcy giggled, helping eachother out of the tank. They both got out of the tub, and after ringing out what water they could, moved on with the rest of the festivities. 

After the row of games they came across quite the display. A massive sheet of magnifying glass was on the local stage, and behind it, magnified for all to see, was Marcy's Shift screen. Several frogs were gathered around it, playing from the mini game library of Sonrio Party 9. Marcy tilted her head in confusion when Ivy provided an explanation. "I showed them how it worked at the start of the night."

"Wow, I'm surprised that they're so into it..." Marcy remarked, she remembered the first few weeks when a superstitious Sprig had tried to end her Shift's life to free the cast of Vagabondia Chronicles from their prison. 

They watched as a minigame played out. Two of the frogs were already out, with just Wally and Mrs. Croaker still competing. It was a classic minigame where the characters balanced on large rolling balls and tried to bump each other off a mountain. One attempted to charge the other but was deftly sidestepped them. The attacker charged straight off the mountain.

Wally jumped up intending to toss the controller in anger, but the strap kept it from being tossed. "Dang it!"

"Haha!" Mrs. Croaker cackled before grabbing a coin purse, "alright, that’s three wins, fork over the coppers the lot of you." she demanded.

The three frogs including Wally dumped a handful of coppers into the coin purse before removing their controllers and stalking away. Mrs. Croaker, satisfied with her haul, placed her own controller down before walking off towards some of the concession stands around the party.

Ah, gambling, that would do it. 

The system left open, their group came in and took it over. Marcy won most of the games she played, only occasionally knocked out by the more luck based minigames that had somehow made it past QA. 

"Alright, I think I'm ready to move on," Maddie decided, sitting up and stretching, "we should probably get things ready for the fireworks soon anyway."

The other World Hoppers were ready to move on as well, but Anne didn't look so eager. "Now hold on a minute. Marcy, if you want to take your win and move on, I won't stop you..." Anne led on. "However, if you're up for a bit of a challenge." Anne hit the home button on the controller and with a glance back, navigated to one of the first games Marcy had downloaded on her Switch, Street Kombat Puzzle Fighter Deluxe Edition: Remastered. 

Marcy narrowed her eyes competitively at Anne, knowing exactly where this was going. 

Sprig jumped up to Marcy's shoulder, chortling out a laugh. "Challenge? Please, Marcy's the best at all these games."

"I've barely beaten her once." Polly stated sourly. 

Anne raised a brow, "the best, huh? It appears they don't know about the score."

"Score?" Sprig asked.

"Two-hundred-sixty-four" Anne said pointing to herself, then over to Marcy, "two-hundred-sixty- two. " she said with a grin. 

An over dramatic gasp rang out from their frog companions as Marcy rolled her eyes, "two of those ‘wins’ were from you winning one round and me having to leave." 

"Yep, does forfeiting not count anymore?" Anne teased gently. "But fine, let's combine those two totally legitimate wins into a single victory,I’m only one ahead," she offered magnanimously

"Is that true?" Sprig asked curiously looking up to Marcy who nodded in concession.

"Marcy may have me totally beat when it comes to racing games, shooter games, or any RPG or strategy-" what had meant to start off as a boast slowly turned into just flattering Marcy, "but puzzle games?" she added quickly, "well, I'm afraid she's met her match in Anne Boonchuy."

Marcy shook her head. This rivalry over the game had been a long standing part of their friendship, dating back to when they found an old copy among Mr. Boonchuy's boxes full of games. Marcy had gotten the remastered version on her switch, and they usually got a few rounds in per sleepover. "I'd love to Anne, but like Maddie said: we really should be gathering everyone for the fireworks-"

"Sounds like you're scared," Maddie said with a grin. 

"What, I'm not-" 

"It's okay Marcy," Ivy patted her leg comfortingly "you don't have to be the best at all games."

"Yeah," Sprig agreed, "I'll still think you're great! Even if Anne is just better at this than you." 

As Marcy was ganged up on by her entire friend group, she considered maybe there was a cost to trouncing everyone at games all the time. She looked to her girlfriend who was spinning one of the controllers by the strap, bathing in the praise. She winked playfully at Marcy, sticking her tongue out in challenge. Marcy grinned, rolling her sweatshirt sleeves up and picking her controller back up, "alright, game on!" Marcy booted up the game and her and Anne sat next to each other on two of the little stump chairs. while the World Hopper's gathered around. 

They each picked their go-to characters, they didn't have a big mechanical difference, but it was important to both of them. Marcy chose Kyram, the martial artist fighting for redemption. Anne chose Enna, the chosen one swordswoman who had failed in her quest. Granted, these backstories were really more relevant to  the main line series of the game. In this spin off they were mostly just adorable chibi sprite avatars who  would perform kicks and slashes to sell the impact of combos. 

The first round went to Marcy handedly, she built up stack after stack of combos until even Anne's superhuman sorting skills weren't enough to deal with all the junk Marcy rained on her board. "Looks like we're gonna be all tied up again." Marcy taunted.

Anne was not intimidated, "still two rounds left Mar-Mar."

The second round narrowly went to Anne, she set up quick combos and constantly dropped junk just before Marcy had a chance to clear her board. Marcy had almost managed to counter attack when the timer ran out. She hadn't filled up her board, but Anne's stack was shorter than hers so the round went to her. 

"Come on Anne! You can do it!" Polly encouraged from her bucket. 

"Betrayed by my own sister," Marcy groaned melodramatically. "I can finally relate to Kyram on a deeper emotional level."

"Getting scared Marbles?" Anne raised a brow as the countdown for the final round sounded.

"You wish." Marcy leaned forward into her full gremlin gamer pose. Anne leaned forward as well until they were both shoulder to shoulder. 

The third round was no walk in the park. Anne was keeping up those combos, but Marcy was clearing them and setting up a massive eight part combo. She was playing a dangerous game, but if she pulled it off, then it would clear her board and be enough for a 1-hit KO. There were about twenty seconds left and she was stalling at the top waiting for the piece she needed to set off the attack. If it didn't come she was going to have to dismantle her own combo just to keep from losing. Just when she was about to switch gears she saw her red gem appear in the 'next' column, Marcy grinned in triumph as she sorted her garbage block into a corner. All she had to do was flip this next piece around for the win. "Sorry Anne, but this round is-" Marcy felt Anne slip one hand gently around the side of her face while she leaned in to kiss Marcy's cheek. The unexpected sensation made Marcy’s whole body tingle. Which distracted her just long enough for her treasured game winning piece to slot uselessly at the top of her board. "No, no no no!" Anne leaned back snickering as Marcy watched helplessly as the last few slots filled up.

Enna drew her blade and a massive white slash appeared over the entire screen and Kyram was dramatically knocked backward onto the ground. "Enna Wins!" the dramatic announcer declared while the little chibi played out her victory animation. Enna sheathed her sword, faced the camera and gave a ‘V’ for victory pose and winked.

Marcy glanced over to Anne who was giving her the exact same pose and wink while the world hoppers jostled her in celebration of dethroning Marcy. Marcy scowled, moving a hand to the place she had been kissed. The point of betrayal. "That was a dirty trick." 

"All's fair in love and puzzles," Anne shrugged as if there wasn't anything for it. "Besides, how could I resist when you were looking so cute and confident." She flashed that brilliant wide smile and Marcy's face softened to a pout. 

Polly rolled her eyes at the flirting before announcing, "Let's go watch explosions!" 

They all started moving and Anne stood first, offering Marcy her hand. After a moment Marcy took it, over the loss but still playing up pouting to get Anne to encourage Anne to try and cheer her up. 

They all gathered near town square, the night was starting to wind down and the frogs of Wartwood gathered around. Marcy took a stand on the pedestal where once Toadstool had attempted to hide the town's taxes. The statue had been removed in a kind of fervor during the festivities following the election, but she remained. Marcy looked out at the crowd who had been so scared when the tax toads had come to town. A crowd that now had a number of those same folks sporting their militia uniform as their nice clothes.  Now at least a majority of them had named her frog of the year. Among those a few had given their time and labor to make the night a success. 

As she took a deep calming breath to speak, she remembered distinctly the version of her who had been so scared to address everyone like this. She was glad the current version of her had made it here. "Hello everyone! We have a bit of a finale planned for the end of the night, but first..." she grinned looking at the friends and acquaintances she had made. "I just wanted to thank you all for welcoming me into your community. I know I don't always make the best first impression, but I'm really grateful you all gave me a chance to-"

A voice rang out over the crowd " Gutless Coward! " A shock of fear ran through Marcy at the voice, one she hadn't heard since the tower. Grime’s voice.

"Hey! Who said that!" Sprig called out. 

" Find her and kill her! " The captain's voice boomed again and Marcy glanced over at Anne who looked annoyed but clearly hadn't placed the voice either. A gasp of recognition from someone in the crowd pointing up and behind Marcy just before boom. 

A massive gust of wind blew up from behind her and Marcy staggered forward at the bellow. Marcy looked behind her to whatever had thought to ambush her and finally recognized the threat for what it was. The mimic bird that she and Sprig had first encountered months ago towered over her in the middle of Wartwood. It looked down on her, it's blood vessels visible in its murderous yellow eyes. It spoke this time in Anne's voice as it had done to lure her to its domain so long ago, " Marcy? " Then it let out a mighty squawking roar as it reared back to strike down and swallow Marcy whole. Also familiar were the hands of her girlfriend and brother shoving her out of the way to safety. 

Shaken out of her memories, Marcy raised her finger and thumb to her lips and let out a loud sharp whistle into the night air, overcoming the fearful cries of the crowd. Among those scrambling for cover, Marcy noted a number of green vests moving to the defense of the town. 

Marcy returned her attention to the beast in front of her, and knew she would have to buy time for the militia to get ready. "Everyone, keep calm, get to cover!" Marcy reached down to her bag and picked up a smoke bomb. As the mimic bird stalked closer Marcy turned to Sprig "Sprig, turret mode!" she called out. 

Sprig nodded and without missing a beat hopped onto Marcy's shoulder. Marcy looped one arm around Sprig’s legs to steady him and offered up the smoke bomb. Sprig took it, loaded it into his slingshot, and fired it straight at the oncoming creature. Sprig missed its cracked maw by inches, but the plume of smoke disoriented it all the same, giving them just a bit more breathing room. 

"Is there a plan here Marce!?" Anne asked, not in doubt but more in question. 

"Buy time for the militia!" Marcy called back, "Anne, you can do big illusions right?"

Anne thought about it, "pretty big if they’re not too detailed!"

"It's a bird, it doesn't need to be too detailed, just something that will distract it." Marcy called back. The mimic bird blew away the smoke using its wings and was again pursuing them. 

Anne did a quick spell gesture as she ran, closing her eyes to concentrate. Suddenly a giant, almost polygonal, version of Anne's cat domino leapt up from the forest behind the mimic bird who startled in surprise. They nearly the same size. The bird squawked and puffed out its chest in challenge. Anne had to stop running to focus on pupating the illusion, and Marcy could tell that it was putting a lot of strain on Anne to keep going. 

Marcy came up behind her, putting a supportive hand on her back. Anne looked back and smiled before focusing back on her performance. Giant domino was prowling from side to side, narrowly avoiding talon and beak that might shred the illusion. The mimic bird grew more bold as 'Domino' refused to attack.

Towards the center of town Marcy heard a whistle from up above, she patted Anne on the back, "you can drop it." Marcy held her fingers up in preparation. With a sigh of relief Anne dropped the spell and the bird looked confused. Then Marcy blew out a responding whistle, which was answered by a lancing ballista shot hitting the bird in the side. It squawked in pain, but didn't fall over. It was much too large to be downed even by a bolt of that size. It might have been fatal eventually, but it would do a lot of rampaging before then. 

That, of course, was what the long copper coil connecting the ballista shot back to the town battery was for. Marcy glanced back to see the two frog team up at the lightning gun just in time for one of them to pull back the switch to channel the town's power supply directly into the mimic bird. The bird shook and jittered as millions of volts of electricity lanced through its body.

Anne flinched, looking away from the sight. 

After the battery had been spent, the mimic bird's colorful feathers were singed and smoking. It slowly toppled from its perch, thumping down onto the ground. Slowly the people of Wartwood started to inch out from their hiding spots, many clutching makeshift weapons and staring wide eyed at the defeated bird. 

"You good?" Marcy checked in with Anne who nodded. Assured, Marcy walked to the nearest raised platform, to get people's attention. "Well, that was not planned, but that was the town's new lightning gun." She said, a little out of breath. "it doesn't have the biggest range, but it should be a solid deterrent against the bigger monsters around Wartwood..." Marcy explained a little winded. 

There was a moment silence before the crowd erupted into cheers all around them. Marcy let out a breath of relief, for a second she had been worried this might cause everyone to fear her agai-

"Wartwood's guardian spirit strikes again!" a call came out. 

"I knew we'd be blessed if we voted her Frog of the Year."

Marcy let out a defeated groan. Sprig walked up and gave an affectionate pat on the side in understanding. At least it was a superstition that painted her in a positive light this time. 

Marcy recovered from her disappointment, straightening her back and waving at everyone to get their attention. "I do have one last surprise for everyone. It's a little human celebratory tradition. If everyone could make their way towards the hills east of town, I'll get it set up." The townsfolk, either curious or worried about what would happen if they refused, started to make their way towards the edge of town while the militia started to carve up the roasted bird. "Oh! Uh, they're going to be loud and bright, that is on purpose!" she added belatedly. Anne left with the crowd, which confused Marcy at first, but figured Anne was going to get them some good seats.

Maddie and Ivy, who carried Polly, came up as everyone else started to depart. "Thanks for grabbing Polly, Ivy." Marcy says reaching down for the little Pollywog. Polly, far from miffed or annoyed at her siblings not grabbing her, was instead enchanted by the sight of the beast she had contributed to the slaying of. "Where'd you go Maddie?"

"I hid. You still had all of my curses." she explained with a shrug. 

Marcy looked down into her bag, "ah, whoops, sorry." She held out her bag for Maddie to retrieve her curses.  

---

Marcy was jogging back towards the eastern hillside lungs burning alongside Maddie, Polly tucked into her hood. They had set up what was effectively a timer to start shooting off the fireworks. She may have used her power to as a sergeant to assign a couple of the militia members to look after the launch, she really wanted to see how they looked when fired off in the air. It was the one thing she had prepared for the party after all. 

She held onto Polly as she spotted Hop Pop and Sprig on the hillside among the various families. There was a titter of excitement from everyone, Maddie peeled off to go be with her family, the triplets waving kindly towards Marcy as she passed by. Marcy made the last trudging steps up to where Hop Pop and Sprig were. 

"Hey Hop Pop, how was the party for you?" Marcy asked as Sprig jumped up to take Polly from her. 

"It was a delight, right up until the bird attack that is." he said with a shrug, "but everyone's been really excited about this whole electricity stuff. Got all sorts of folks asking about it." he nodded proudly at Marcy. "How about yourself?"

"It was wonderful thanks to the work you and Anne put in." The night had not been a fraction as stressful as Marcy had been worried about. Then Marcy looked around curiously. "Where is Anne by the way?" 

"She's up at the top of the hill waiting for you." Sprig exposited helpfully.

Marcy looked up the hillside curiously. 

"Well don't keep her waiting kiddo." Hop Pop encouraged gently. There was a tiredness to the words, but it had been a long day. 

Marcy nodded appreciatively, "enjoy the fireworks!" She said and continued up the hill, now at a slightly more sedated pace. She passed by Ivy and Felicia's spot on the hill and waved. The two waved back, then Ivy whispered something to her mom while pointing a thumb back up where Anne was. Felicia laughed lightly and Marcy felt butterflies in her stomach. As Marcy finally crested the hill, she smiled at the sight that awaited her. 

Anne had set up a place for the two of them under the shade of an oak tree. A little red and white checkerboard blanket was stretched out, a little small for humans, but plenty of room for the two of them if they sat close. Anne sat against the trunk of the tree, her eyes lighting up as they spotted Marcy. She patted the spot next to her for Marcy. While Marcy felt excited at the intimate set-up, her curious mind was drawn to the icebox, which Anne had apparently dragged all the way up here to this spot. "Everything went alright with the set up?"

"Yep, should start any minute now," Marcy nodded. 

Anne held out a hand and Marcy obliged, sitting under the tree with her. Marcy was trying to sit patiently, but her fingers anxiously tapping at her knee gave her away. 

Anne glanced down at the action with a little knowing smile. "You want to know what the icebox is for, huh?"

"It's driving me nuts." She didn't want to ruin the mood, but her mind would not let this go until she found out.

Anne nodded and leaned away, stretching out to reach the icebox, "I hope it survived the trip alright..." She removed a wide wooden bowl with a spoon in it and gingerly deposited it in Marcy's lap. Marcy looked down in shock. Sitting in the bowl was unmistakably mint chocolate ice cream. Too curious and excited she picked up the spoon and took a bite. 

Instantly memories of warm summer afternoons with Anne and Sash came flooding back to her. 

After two more bites Marcy was starting to figure out how Anne had managed it. The chocolate chips were chocopedes and the milk and sugar were likely sourced from Mrs. Croaker and Aldor respectively. But... "how did you manage the food coloring?" 

"You don't want to know-" Anne started but then reconsidered, "what am I saying of course you do." she looked affectionately at a curious Marcy. "I talked to Aldor, and apparently there's this bug who changes colors over the course of the day, all the way down to its guts." she grimaced, "if you mash those up you can use it as food coloring." she shivered, "gross but I figured you wouldn't mind." She asked with a raised brow. 

Marcy shrugged, taking another bite. She had gotten over her distaste for eating bugs the day she met Sprig. It wasn't so weird in her opinion, plenty of Earth cultures historically relied on bugs as a protein source. As Marcy went for another bite, she looked down at the fairly large bowl of ice cream she had left. "I... don't know if I can finish all this," she admitted sheepishly. 

"Eat what you want. I kept tinkering with the ingredient proportions and it kind of got out of hand..." Anne said with a shrug. 

Then the whistle of the first firework trailed through the air before exploding in the night sky, brilliant bright green sparks shooting out in a spread. It had worked just as intended. 

"Ah!!!!!" the frogs below them screeched in fear, in spite of Marcy's warning.

A second firework went off 

"Ah!!!...???"

A third and fourth in quick succession, 

"Oooh!'' Quick to readjust, the frogs of Wartwood came to enjoy the fireworks. Oohing and awing at Maddie, Polly, and Marcy's hard work.

"Wow, incredible job for a day's work." Anne complimented and Marcy felt the praise flow throughout through her body. "How'd you get it to work?"

"Oh!" Marcy was excited, "so, there's this thing called boom shrooms here, which totally just explodes if you hit them hard enough." She dug into her bag and Anne looked curiously. "So I figured I might be able to use it as a replacement for gunpowder if we ground it down!" She spotted what she was looking for and pushed aside a small vial of purple dust in favor of one full of white and blue dust.  She pulled it out to examine proudly "Now I know what your thinking-"

Anne took the vial looking at it curiously. "How did you grind them down if they explode so easily?" 

Marcy grinned from ear to ear, she used to pose those questions rhetorically, but she didn't have to anymore. She looked back at the fireworks as they exploded one after another, "So I had the idea of soaking the shrooms for an hour before grinding, figuring if they were soaked through then they wouldn't be able to detonate, so it became a process of carefully grinding them into a mush and then drying it into this powder. Gotta keep it packed tight in there though, if it has too much space to jostle around it could ignite.” That had been a messy lesson to learn with their prototype. Luckily none of them got hurt. "From there me and Maddie tried different additives to get the best result we could, like sawdust and-" Marcy glanced at Anne to find her girlfriend was no longer looking at the vial or the fireworks. She was looking directly at Marcy with an adoring expression. 

At being caught, Anne blushed a bit and quickly adjusted her sights back out on the fireworks, "You guys did a great job, Marcy," she added awkwardly.

Marcy felt a loving smile tug at the corners of her mouth, her heart filling with warmth. Anne had worked really hard to make this a good day for her. In stark contrast to the dread she felt earlier that morning, Marcy couldn't remember when she had been this content and happy. A day spent experimenting with her sister and witching partner. Got to show off her inventions. Had a taste of food from home and explored a festival. Played some of her favorite games with her frog friends and beautiful girlfriend. Who had even gone about making her favorite dessert for her and... much to Marcy’s belated embarrassment had clearly set up the whole night to be the perfect first date for the two of them. 

A cool wind blew over the top of the hillside. "Are you cold?" Anne asked with care. Gallantly she unclasped her cloak and wrapped it around both their shoulders.

In point of fact, Marcy was not cold, with her sweatshirt on Marcy was comfortable even on the coldest nights in the valley. However in this moment of clarity Marcy could see the action for what it was: an excuse for the two of them to cuddle closer together. Marcy did so happily leaning into Anne and appreciating her warmth. Anne wrapped an arm around the small of Marcy's back as the two of them looked out at the fireworks. 

It had almost been the perfect night, just one thing was missing. Marcy set aside the bowl of ice cream next to her before turning slightly towards Anne, reaching out for her free hand. Anne looked at her a little expectantly, and Marcy could feel her heartbeat quicken as she gathered up her courage, she kept her gaze down, as she stroked the back of Anne's hand with her thumb, "Anne... I know we've only been dating a little bit, but... would you like to kiss-"

"Yes." 

Marcy looked up, surprised by the quick response. By Anne's embarrassed expression, she was also surprised by what she said. 

"I... I mean," she took a breath, trying to recapture some of her earlier smooth composure, "Yeah, I wouldn’t mind..."

Marcy blinked but felt the happiness and thrill as a notion finally sunk in. Anne liked her. Anne really, really liked her. It wasn't some obligation. Anne had called Marcy her first love, she wasn't Anne's second choice. 

Anne turned slightly towards Marcy, her hand reaching up to brush a knuckle across Marcy's cheek. Her chocolate brown eyes stared right back into Marcy's, the shining flash of the last firework before the finale flashing across her beautiful face. Marcy closed her eyes and leaned in, trusting Anne to meet her in the middle. 

Art by cutetanuki-chan [ Twitter | Tumblr ]

It felt incredible. Anne's lips felt warm, and comforting, and everything Marcy had dreamed these past few months. Marcy felt her face flush as the crescendo of the fireworks finale flashed behind her eyelids. Each pop and burst in time with her thundering heartbeat. They held it for a time before pulling back slightly, resting foreheads against each other as they took a moment to drink in the feeling. 

"Hey Marcy..." Anne whispered as the fireworks tapered off, "mind if I do a check in?"

Marcy smiled, having a suspicion of what this was about, "no..." 

Anne's eyes turned their enchanting crystal blue. "purple..." Anne laughed affectionately, she whispered to Marcy. "you knew the whole time didn't you?"

Marcy only grinned sheepishly in answer. 

Anne laughed a little before looking at Marcy adoringly, "could we... one more time?" Marcy nodded and Anne pushed in for another kiss, this one shorter and sweeter than the first. As Marcy pulled back, Anne pursued, "one more?" Marcy happily obliged, this one was longer, a bit more intense then their first two, lasting long enough that when they broke Marcy had to take a moment to breathe. "Just one more?" Anne asked, voice breathy and eyes filled with a desire that Marcy hadn't seen in her before. It made her a little nervous, but in an exciting way. Marcy nodded and Anne closed the distance between them again. 

The passion of this final kiss was well and truly beyond the first few and Marcy felt she had fallen well and truly out of her depth. Sensing this, Anne started to pull away, but Marcy wrapped her arms around her neck, pulling her back in. Marcy did feel adrift, a little nervous about where they were heading, but her every instinct told her to ride the current through the storm. They shared a half lidded look before Anne pressed on. 

After a moment Marcy felt Anne's tongue in gentle question. Marcy felt dizzy but didn't want to stop, opening her mouth, feeling as Anne-

"Mmph!" Anne grunted in pain and Marcy, shaken out of whatever state she had been in, pulled back.

"Wh- what did I do something wrong?" Marcy asked self consciously. 

“No, no, you were fine.”Anne gave a reassuring smile, then her expression shifted to confused, "it's just... Why are your teeth so sharp?"

Marcy paused for a moment, then snapped as she realized something, "oh, right, my fangs."

"You're what now?"

"Remember when I told you about that whole possession mishap with Maddie?" Marcy pushed up her lip to reveal one of her sharpened canines. "I ended up with these afterwards, took weeks to get used to them..."

Anne stared at them, face just a slightly darker shade in the moonlight, "O-Oh, cool..."

Marcy paused, at first taking Anne's words to be reassuring, but in a moment of intuition and realized that Anne was flustered. Marcy had an opportunity. One that she had not so far gotten in their young relationship. She had the chance to tease Anne, "you like them don't you?" Marcy questioned with a smirk. 

"I mean... yeah, I think every part of you is cute Mar-Mar," Anne said, trying to turn this back on Marcy, but she refused to be derailed. 

"Does this have to do with your obsession with paranormal romance last year?" Marcy asked with a raised brow. 

By Anne's expression, Marcy knew she’d hit bullseye, "what- n-no."

Giggling, Marcy affected a terrible Translvanian accent, "vhat would you have me do to you my paramour."

Anne rolled her eyes, gently shoving her. Marcy let herself fall over, hands on her stomach in the midst of a laughing fit. Anne pouted for a moment, but quickly cracked a smile as she saw Marcy's mirth. Soon they were both giggling together. As their laugh came to an end sharing an adoring expression. 

The moment had passed. Not spoiled or ruined, but they were firmly back on familiar shores. Which Marcy felt relieved and regretful for. Though she had no doubt that they would find their way back to those stormy seas again, after all-

They still had time. 

---

Sasha winced as the last crescendo of the fireworks came to an end, leaving a plume of smoke hanging in the night sky. 

"What was that racket?" Yunan said from beside her. 

"Fireworks." Sasha answered as if it was obvious, then paused, "Newtopia doesn't have them?"

Yunan shook her head, "no, there must be some frog tradition." Yunan dismissed, "Pretty though." 

Sasha refocused on the valley ahead of them, if Amphibia didn’t have fireworks then maybe...

"you know... they might not be-" Yunan said in a gentle tone. One that sounded foreign in the general’s mouth

"They're here." Sasha said, tired of this argument. 

"I'm just saying they-"

"We have been up and down this mudball of a continent twice over. Anywhere we haven't been personally has been scouted by the Newtopian Ranger core. We have had reports in from the North, East, and Western Toad Towers, and none of them have seen anyone like me." Sasha reasoned, voice intent. "This valley has been closed off from the continent since the three of us arrived, which is the only explanation for why we haven't found them yet." Sasha said, turning challenging eyes on Yunan. 

In her general's expression, Sasha could read her worry. That they would seek out through the valley and once again Sasha would end up bitterly disappointed. 

Sasha knew other options could exist. They could have been dropped into the vast ocean of Amphibia and drowned. They could have been killed and eaten within moments of their arrival. They could be on some island on the other side of the frog damned world and it would take years to find them, if ever. 

But none of those were what happened because that would mean her friends were gone and there was nothing she could do about it. 

So Anne and Marcy had to be nestled in this backwater valley, unable to reunite with her due to a stupid giant block of ice. 

Speaking of, "Hey, Carl, can you hurry it up, I'd like to get into the valley before we all die of old age."

Carl, currently the bane of Sasha's existence turned back, hammer and chisel in hand, "look Captain, we either do this right the first time, or we double back to resupply after messing it up." Carl had no respect for authority, but he was a specialist and Sasha needed his skills. So Sasha just brushed him off with a wave of her hand and he went back to chiseling. "Besides, I'm on the last one."

Sasha could still feel Yunan's worry on her back. There were moments she missed the strict taskmaster who whipped her into fighting shape sometimes. Not often, but Sasha hated undue concern. "Either way, we have a job to do, right? Gotta put down this frog rebellion brewing in the valley."

"You know if it was just the two of us, we could have simply scaled this ice brick and been there days ago." Yunan said sourly. 

"And what? Fight and occupy the whole valley?" Sasha deadpanned, she glanced back to the company of soldiers that they had dragged behind them from the nearest garrison. They weren't royal newt guard quality, but they were more than enough for some frogs. "Need someone to leave behind or else they'll just get unruly again." Sasha said practically. She admired Yunan's confidence, especially since more often than not she could back it up, but the general had trouble accepting help when it was needed. She still remembered when Yunan thought Sasha Waybright would slow her down.

"Hmph..." Yunan grumbled but didn't argue. 

After a moment Carl stood up from his work and walked over to Sasha, one of those weird little explosive mushrooms in hand. "Alright, that should do it, want to do the honors?" he asked, offering the mushroom up. "Just make sure to run after you throw, that's gonna be one big kaboom." Sasha nodded and Carl started to head to safety. 

Sasha looked over to admire Carl's work. All afternoon he had spent making small incisions in the ice so he could stick a boom shroom in the hole. Finally as they neared midnight, a garrison's worth of the stuff had been carefully arranged across the ice's face. 

"Ready, Captain Waybright?" Yunan said, proud of her subordinate's recent promotion. 

Sasha nodded, grinning. "Let's get down there," Sasha slammed a palm down on the mushroom like it was an alarm clock and then hurled it towards the wall of ice. 

Notes:

Man, I have had that fang joke in the barrel since chapter 3. Shocked we finally got here.

Anyways, Hello Everyone The Plot Is Here! 

Probably not gonna talk as much as usual just cause I am tired, and spent the better part of the day getting this all ready. 

I will say for those worried, this is probably about as intimate a scene as we're going to get in the mainline fic. They're full of hormones, but they're still kids. 

Also, for those Curious What Game I was referencing with Street Kombat Puzzle Fighter: Deluxe Edition: Remastered I was referring to this arcade classic

---

Feedback

Thank you to everyone who left comments, sent me questions on tumblr, or maintained the TVTropes page. As much as I enjoy writing this story, knowing people are engaged with it enough to spend some time to write something always means a lot to me. It just makes it easier to put one word in front of another. 

Only questions this week are going to pretty much be answered shortly so I'm gonna hold off. 

---

Final Thoughts

Alright, I hope everyone liked the fluff in this chapter cause... uh. This finale is gonna hurt. I feel that's a little redundent, you all watched Amphibia presumably, you know how season finale's are but... yeah. Be prepared for that.

I'm gonna just go ahead and take 2 weeks for this last one. Even if I could do it in one, I want the time to polish it to a shine. See you all on the 17th for the Finale of A Witch In Wartwood. {There will be a sequal fic exploring Season 2, for the record.}

Chapter 21: Reunion

Summary:

Marcy and Anne reunite with their childhood friend.

Notes:

- Content Warning -

Marcy was four and a half and she had already exhausted all the books they had at home. She had to be taken every week or so to borrow new books from the local library. She had started with fantasy novels, stories of epic heroes and far flung adventures. Her favorite was the Warlock War trilogy. However, recently she had drifted more and more into the nonfiction side of the library. 

The world was so vast and interesting. She had recently discovered the system used to separate all the living things in the world. Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. This week she was on mushrooms. 

"Did you know that fungi can be the largest life forms on earth? They're mycelium can stretch for miles under the earth!" Marcy said excitedly. "Also! Did you know that there are fungi that have a symbiotic relationship with trees? They pass by nutrients and information! The trees use these networks to warn each other about droughts, pests, and diseases!" Marcy recounted these facts to her father who sat in his recliner, rubbing at his temple. He had come home from work a few minutes ago. He had taken off his jacket, but his tie hung loosely from his neck. "There's also another type of mushroom that eats itself for nutrients! Breaking down its own-"

"Marcy." her father said shortly and Marcy paused, making note of where she had left off to continue later. Her father looked down at her, speaking evenly. "You can't just talk at people." Marcy frowned, tilting her head in question. He sighed and sat forward. "You have to understand. If you just talk at people, telling them things they don't care about? It will bore them and they're not going to like you."

Marcy paused thinking over the words. "Do you not care about mushrooms?" She asked considerately. He shook his head. Marcy nodded in understanding, taking up her borrowed book and reading silently to herself again, ignoring all the pages she had dog-eared to share with her parents. 

Her parents had always told her how smart she was. How quickly she picked up on things. She could understand.

The next day she asked if her father cared about trees, but he didn't.

A week later after a trip to the library, she asked if he was interested in architecture. But apparently that wasn't something he cared about either. 

A month later she decided it would be better to just mention what she had been learning about, and see if he took an interest, but he never did. 

But that was alright. She could understand.

"Why'd you stop?"

Now Marcy was five, and had just talked more than she had in months. She was stuck with the new girl in a hole they had dug together. Marcy had really hoped they could be friends, but she had just been rambling again. "I didn't want to bore you. I'm sorry-"

"I wasn't bored!" the girl, Anne, responded, "How did ninja's use cats to tell the time!?" she encouraged

Marcy smiled as she found her place again, "well... cat pupils get bigger or smaller at different times of day..."

Anne told her how she was going to try it out with her cat domino when she got home and Marcy felt a little warmth build in her chest. 

---

The thunderclap that shattered through the night air almost felt physical. It provoked a call of alarm from the folks of Wartwood who had been preparing to head home for the evening. 

 Marcy, who had been lost in her girlfriend's eyes, suddenly shook back to the reality around them. The day was long past, but the full moon up above cast the valley in light. 

"Did one of your fireworks go off late?" Anne asked, having gotten up from their seat and offering a hand to Marcy. 

"No... no that wasn't any of mine, that was way too powerful..." Marcy squinted seeing a plume of dust kick up from the mountains to the east, "I think it might have come from the mountains..." They quickly gathered up their things, and headed down into town. 

Many of the townsfolk had gathered together in the middle of town to see what the hubbub was about. Hop Pop stood on the stage set up for Frog of the Year trying to get control over the situation.

"Alright, now everyone calm down, It could be nothing. Let's rule out the obvious. Marcy!" Hop Pop called her out as her and Anne loaded the icebox into the wagon. "Was that one of those fireworks you made?" 

Marcy shook her head, "no, they would have all been spent, and none of them would have been that loud." she elaborated to more nervous chittering. "I think it came from the mountains." 

"Alright, now there could be plenty of reasons for that. Still we'll be careful. Sheriff- I mean Sergeant-Ma-" Hop Pop shook his head, "Buck, you get the militia all ready to go." Buck nodded and got all the green coats in the crowd to retrieve their weapons while others who were not on duty rushed towards the barracks to get armed.  "Marcy, can you make sure that lightning gun of yours is all ready to go if we need it?"

"Can do!" Marcy saluted proudly, and the crowd began to calm down. 

"Alright, now we just need to figure out what we're dealing with..." Hop Pop rubbed his chin in thought.

"I can go scout it out!" Anne offered, raising a hand. A number of surprised eyes went to her and she shrugged. "My magic will be able to keep me safe if it's something dangerous."

Hop Pop blinked back a bit of shock but smiled appreciatively, "well, that is very brave of you Anne, thank you. Take Bessie, get there and back quickly. Don't try to face anything out there alone."

"No worries, I got this." Anne gave a thumbs up.

"Alright, everyone we'll know more soon, one way or the other." Hop Pop said and people started to move, either to help clean up after the festival or to ready the town defenses. 

"Wow, town thief to town defender." Marcy said, not able to keep a worried wrinkle off of her brow. 

"Well what can I say?" Anne shrugged modestly, "you're an inspiration," she said with a flirty wink. 

Marcy chuckled, feeling a bit better about the whole thing. Marcy accompanied her and tapped  her on the shoulder before she could leave. After looking around to make sure not too many people were paying attention, Marcy leaned up just slightly to peck Anne on the lips, "come back safe alright?" 

Anne grinned, her skin darkening just slightly, "of course." Anne promised. 

Then she mounted up on Bessie and drove out towards the eastern mountains. 

Marcy watched until Bessie fell out of sight before going to check on the town power supply. As she made her way over she frowned, "I wonder where Sprig disappeared off to..."

---

Grime paced around the damnable fog impatiently, a scowl on his face. His remaining ten soldiers were huddled together, throwing worried glances up at the moon when they thought he wasn't looking. It was good the army had seemed to arrive, one of his scouts had seen them coming up the mountain pass beyond the ice earlier today. 

He had hoped driving that mimic bird into that creature's lair would have softened the town up for their push into the valley. All it had done was show he was still underestimating these 'humans'. After the brown haired one had distracted the bird, her leader struck it down with tamed lightning. They dealt with the creature like a beetle passing underfoot. Part of him worried about the Valley pass getting open, if the creature was allowed to escape into the lands beyond the valley they might never manage to pin it down. 

He heard footsteps through the mist and signaled the ingrates he was forced to rely on, "Up, to arms." He himself drew his sword.

"Jumpy Captain?" from the mist, flanked by two newt soldiers, came general Yunan. Grime had heard of the general, but hadn't had an opportunity to meet her. The valley was relatively quiet, and whatever malcontents cropped up Grime was able to handle himself. At least, until now. The General leaned to one of the two soldiers, "go find Captain Waybright, we found our contact."

"Greetings General," Grime forced a salute, whether he liked it or not, the King's bloodhound outranked him. "I promise you, once you know the full scope of the problem we are to face, you will understand the caution."

"Yes, I am curious how some frogs managed to menace the champion of the coliseum, I was a fan in my younger years..." Yunan said with a disappointed expression. 

Grime almost let out a sneer, but held it back, "It wasn't the frogs, it's the beast they have managed to coax onto their side. An uncanny creature of foul intelligence and-"

"So it's a monster hunt?" A bright voice pierced through the fog, "fortunately for you, that's a specialty of ours." Emerging from the mist was another of those dreadful creatures, this one with skin pale and hair of spun gold. She went to stand beside Yunan, smug blue eyes looking down on Grime, "Wherever Toads fall short ..." she raised a mocking brow, "The army will clean things up." She held up a hand and Yunan reciprocated and they slammed their palms together. 

Grime felt a bone deep rage at the strings of fate that brought him to this moment. He rubbed his eyes, "you have got to be kidding me."

---

Anne squinted into the fog that had started to gather around the mountainside. Her magic wouldn't do her much good if she couldn't see what was coming. 

"Kind of hard to see huh?" 

"You're telling me," Anne commiserated. Then paused before whirling around. "Sprig!?" 

"Hey, shush, there might be monsters about." Sprig chastised with a grin, crawling out from the trunk. 

Anne rolled her eyes, whispering, "What are you doing here?"

"Watching your back." Sprig shrugged. "Family’s gotta look after family."

Anne smiled but raised a brow, "So I'm a Plantar too now?" 

"Well eventually," Sprig shrugged, "or did things go badly up on the hill?"

"None of your business, dude." Anne side eyed the little frog and tried to focus on driving. But found her mind drifting to Marcy's cute face. Her timidly asking if Anne was ready to kiss and then-

"You're smiling~" Sprig sang in a teasing voice.

Anne reached over and pulled the little frog's hat down over his eyes. Sprig snickered in triumph as he pulled his hat back up. “Make sure you stick close Little Man, Marcy’d kill me if anything happened to you.”

Sprig nodded and the two of them went back to focusing on trying to parse the fog, hearing little and seeing less right up until-

"They're the source of this rebellion!" A gruff voice familiar called out and Anne slowed Bessie to a stop, nodding silently to Sprig, they dismounted and started making their way over. Anne used her magic to suppress their passing.

“You’ve seen other creatures like me?” Anne suppressed a gasp of recognition. As they made their way through the fog they approached a clearing with many silhouettes populating it.

"I can promise you, Waybright is an excellent and loyal soldier-" this was a new one voice, impatient and a little indignant.

"They hide their true nature, they appear harmless until the moment they move to strike you down." The gruff voice insisted. 

Anne could finally make out the players in the conversation. A toad Anne recognized from her first nightmarish day in Amphibia. A tall newt with short hair and elaborate armor, and finally-

"I'm sorry. I was so elated by the news I apparently wasn't clear." Anne could see Sasha, wearing gleaming metal armor decorated in little ocean themed trinkets. She wore a heavy cloak with a spear strapped to her back. She took one step forward, grabbed Grime by the collar, bending metal as she hauled him into the air like he was a bag of rice, "Where are my friends?"

"Captain Grime, we got to warn-" Sprig whispered before Anne stood up from the bushes she was hiding under.

"Sasha!" Anne climbed out from the bushes, stumbling into the clearing. Anne didn’t notice the toad soldiers who held their breath at the appearance of a second human. 

Sasha spun on a heel, pink eyes fading to sky blue. She dropped the toad as soon as she recognized Anne. "Anne!'' The two girls rushed towards each other, Anne felt the wind get knocked out of her as she collided into plate armor. She recovered quickly, pulling Sasha close. They both jumped in joy and relief, laughing like the middle schoolers they were. As they stopped Sasha put a hand on her shoulders grinning triumphantly. "I knew it! I knew you had to be here." she broke the hold briefly to point back at the newt, who had a reserved smile, "I told you!" 

The newt held up hands in concession. 

"Was that you who opened up the valley!?” what a relief, “Oh man, Marcy's going to be so psyched!" Anne grinned.

A final look of relief looked to wash over Sasha at the mention, "Marcy's with you?" she looked around.

"Not here, back in Wartwood." Anne said, thumbing back in the vague direction of town,  

“Wow, you two ended up dropped in the same spot, huh?” Sasha raised a brow, “what luck.”

“Well, not at first, we only linked up a month ago. Marcy ended up near town but I dropped in next to some kinda tower with toads..." Anne finally glanced over to where a number of toads were all piling behind Grime, clutching their weapons. " Those toads actually."

"Really?" Sasha tilted her head, following her gaze. 

"Yeah, one of them stabbed me!" Anne said with a frown, hand going to her side. 

"What?" Sasha's voice grew venomous.

"Yeah, I popped up by their tower and they surrounded me. I tried to run and they stabbed me in the side."Anne said, rubbing at the scar. 

"You were spying on the tower for your leader." Grime accused, uncowed by the daggers now being bored into him by Sasha. 

"Dude, I didn't even know where I was." Anne said with a shake of her head. Then tilted her head in consideration, "didn't you used to have two legs?"

Sprig jumped up out of the bushes, sensing that things were against Grime. He stuck out his tongue and made a face at the captain. 

Grime seemed to see red at the appearance of the little pink frog. "You let the witch free!" he strode forward, hand going for his sword. Anne stepped in front of Sprig , readying a spell, but it turned out it was unneeded. Sasha drew her spear and parried the sword thrust. Grime reared back for another swing, but found a bladed gauntlet at his throat.

"A child Grime? Really?" there was disgust in Yunan's voice. "Drop the sword captain, that's an order." Without recourse Grime dropped his sword, his one good eye staring daggers at the two humans. 

"This is our contact?" Sasha asked with a raised brow. “We should send some scouts, make sure the tower’s actually destroyed.”

"Indeed..."Yunan nodded in agreement. "Captain, you're clearly not in the right mind to be participating in this mission. You are demoted, you and your toads serve under Captain Waybright and myself until your conduct in the valley can be reviewed. If you act without orders again I will see you court martialed." 

"...understood general." Grime growled sourly, sheathing his sword and turning his back on the group.

"Wow, cool spear!" Sprig said, looking up at Sasha. 

Sasha chuckled, spinning the weapon around with a flourish and resting it on her shoulder, "yeah, I like it alright. What'd you do to piss off a toad captain squirt?"

"Little Man here snuck in and broke Marcy out of Toad Tower." Anne said, patting Sprig affectionately on the head. 

"All by yourself?" Sasha said a little skeptically.

"Well me and a couple friends." Sprig said with a shrug. "We snuck in through the sewers."

Sasha nodded, smiling a smile of grudging respect, "Alright, not bad Squirt. Still," she looked back to where Grime was talking to a handful of toads, "hurt you and arrested Marcy, I'm gonna get Andy to torch that toads career."

"Andy?" Sprig asked, hopping up to Sasha's shoulder.

Sasha looked at the little frog impatiently before plucking Sprig up by the collar, "Oh just a nickname for my good pal," she deposited him onto Anne's shoulder, "King Andrias." Sasha said with a proud expression.

"Woah, you know the king?" Anne said, surprised.

"Sure do! While you two were twiddling your thumbs out here I've been making connections to get us all out of this place."

"Actually, Marcy has been pretty much anything but idle. She's been studying magic! She made a fridge, figured out how to charge our phones, and you probably saw the fireworks earlier," Anne gushed, proud of her girlfriend. "She's cobbling together all this neat bits of magi-tech she calls it, helping out folks, saving people-"

"Anne? You sound like a fangirl." Sasha said with just a light edge of mockery, "sounds like you two have gotten pretty close." 

Anne smiled, rubbing at the back of her head, embarrassed as Sprig snickered next to her, "Well actually..."

"Waybright!" the newt that had threatened Grime called out, walking up to the group. "I know you're happy to find your friends again, but we still have a mission to do."

"Ugh, fine, duty calls I guess." Sasha said with a bit of reluctance, "first come over and meet Anne!" Sasha gestured to the newt, "Anne this is-"

"I am General Yunan," Yunan announced in a grandiose manner, splaying out a palm on her chest. Sasha cringed, covering her eyes with her palm. "scourge of the sand wars, defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of general in the great Newtopian Army!" 

Sasha took in a deep breath before looking back at Anne, "okay, so I know how that sounded, but trust me, she's cool." Yunan's tail whipped up and hit Sasha in the back, Sasha smirked and elbowed the general in the side. 

Anne smiled, it seemed like Sasha had been doing alright for herself. More than alright really. Anne had been half worried they'd find her locked up in jail somewhere, but she should have known better, Sasha always did have a way of getting what she wanted. "Mission?" Anne offered. The faster they dealt with Sasha's thing, the faster all of them could make the trip to Newtopia. 

"Yeah, in exchange for arms, armor, and a massive scouting network to look for you and Marcy, Andy has been having me run little missions around the continent." Sasha said with an air of faux-modesty. "You know, hunting monsters and criminals. I've basically become a folk hero outside of the valley."

"Oh, that's really cool, Sash!" Maybe they had all changed a bit out here. "Well the valley has plenty of monsters," 

"While I'm sure that's true.” Yunan said, “I’m afraid treason is what brings us to your doorstep I'm afraid."

Anne frowned a bit, "treason?"

"Some frog trying to formulate a revolution. We’re here to nip it in the bud. What was his name?" she snapped her fingers, in thought "Ah, Plantar! Hopediah Plantar." Sasha said with a neutral grin, "so me n' Yunan will run him tdone, string em' up, then you me and Marcy can head back to Newtopia." She spoke in a tone like she just had a quick errand before they could head to the mall.

Anne could feel the blood drain from her face at the words. Marcy had implied a frog becoming mayor was revolutionary, but Anne hadn't really thought she meant it like this. While she didn’t like Hop Pop, she still didn’t want him dead. Anne could feel Sprig seize up on her shoulder.

"Yes, but first let's finish the introductions," Yunan decided, "you Anne, I know quite well, but what about you small one? What's your name," the general smiled with a row of teeth that looked like a shark's maw. 

"Uh-" Sprig said, clearly panicking. 

"Sprig Sundew!" Anne provided, "Me n' Marcy have been staying in the Sundew's basement."

"Basement!?" Sasha scoffed, "I have got to get you guy's back to Newtopia. I've secured all three of us rooms in the palace. By the way, do you have a ride? My roach won’t be able to carry the three of us."

"Uh, yeah, we have a riding snail that-"

"Perfect," Sasha, put an arm around the side of Anne that wasn't occupied by Sprig. She pointed at one of the newt soldiers, "you. I'm gonna catch up with my friend, take care of my roach."

The newt snapped off a salute and started to go and grab a riding roach. 

"Lead on girl."

Anne and Sprig exchanged a nervous glance with each other as they all started to walk back towards Bessie.

---

"A sleepover with your two friends? The ones that busted the TV the last time they were here."

Marcy was now six, almost seven, and nodded sheepishly. "For my birthday this Friday..." 

"No. Those two have no respect for others' property. Isn't there some place you'd rather celebrate? The arcade or..." he looked up from his paperwork splayed out across the table. 

"I... Dr. Frakes Children's Museum looked fun..." Marcy offered. 

"Perfect, ask your mother to take you." He said already getting lost in his work again. 

"You can't?" Marcy asked quietly. 

"I've got that trip out of town this weekend." Her father answered curtly. "Don't worry, I ordered that game system you asked for."

"Oh... thank you." He nodded and looked away. Marcy went over to her mom's home office. She nodded and smiled distractedly at Marcy as she recounted her conversation with Dad. 

"He's going this week?" her mother pulls up a calendar on her phone and takes a deep breath, and Marcy got a sinking feeling in her chest. Her mother got out of her office chair and then got down on a knee, holding Marcy's hands and smiling wearily, "Honey, I'm sorry. I thought your father could handle your party this weekend. We must have gotten our schedules mixed up. You have to understand we're both very busy right now..."

Marcy nodded, she could see her mom was stressed. She could understand. 

"We'll plan a party for you soon, okay?"

"Okay... when though? So I can tell my friends?" 

Her mother went to answer but her phone started beeping and robbed her attention as she scowled down at it. "Soon, we'll talk about it later, okay? I have a meeting right now."

Marcy nodded, stepping back and going to her room. She asked again at breakfast the next day, but both her parents were running late. She wanted to ask her Mom on Friday after school, but she was in meetings all the way through dinner, and her father had already left on his trip. She heated some leftovers and opened the Gladiator box that housed her new Nintwodo Double Screen. She spent the night hopping and jumping through Sanrio World Deluxe. 

They were busy, she understood.  

"What do you mean there's not going to be a party?" Sasha asked, annoyed, the following Monday. 

"My parents are busy..." Marcy saaid with a shrug. 

Sasha frowned at that, tapping her foot in thought. "Alright, then we can have your birthday party at my house this weekend!" Sasha said, taking charge.

Oh no, now she was making trouble for her friend, "You don't have to do that Sashy-"

Sasha scoffed, "Have to? I want to! We're gonna have cake, and candy, and-"

"Hey guys!" Anne greeted, running up from the car, hands gripping the straps of her backpack "when're we having your birthday party Mar-Mar."

"This weekend at my house!" Sasha answered for Marcy, wrapping a arm around her shoulder, "We can watch the new Spirit Detective episode, I have it set to record this Saturday."

"Oh! I'll ask my Dad if we can borrow one of his consoles to play games on!" Anne added. 

Sasha and Anne started trading ideas back and forth, each suggesting another way to improve the night, even before Sasha had gotten permission. Marcy felt embarrassed, but also warm and happy. Sasha planning her birthday parties became something of a tradition after that.

---

Marcy sat on a stump at the edge of town with Hop Pop and Polly. They had spent some time looking for Sprig, but Polly eventually posited that he probably had just snuck along with Anne. So they were waiting for them to return. 

The militia were all ready with their hunting spears. Marcy had checked out the lightning gun and it was all good to go. Two frog brothers were manning it in the crows nest up above. The festival was all cleaned up, aside from a few things that could wait until morning, though a few residents were still pushing brooms or milling about to see what might come down from the mountains. 

Polly and Marcy were playing a beat 'em up while she and Hop Pop discussed what project they might want to squeeze in before Marcy and Anne headed out of the valley. 

Aside from the uncertainty in the air over what exactly might be coming, it was a peaceful night. The moon was full, the only real blemish was the fog that had come rolling down off the mountain. The militia had gone around hanging or turning on various mushroom lights around town. Buck had sent the militia around the town to patrol, just to keep them from fraying their nerves . 

"I think we can get an outlet or two to everyone in town with a bit of elbow grease..." Marcy mused, "setting up out towards the farms is gonna get costly just in wiring though..."

"True. Maybe the irrigation project?” Hop Pop suggested, “You don't really need to be here beyond the planning stage. I know a number of farmers around Wartwood would appreciate it. They’re all a little jealous since I talked up how easy running the farm has become."

Marcy nodded as her and Polly performed a combo throw maneuver on the mini-boss to complete the stage. As she high-two’d Polly’s little flipper with her ring and middle finger, Marcy saw something approaching out of the corner of her eye. The silhouette of Bessie approaching the bridge on the edge of town. "Oh, Anne's back!" From the mist Anne, with Sprig in the saddle emerged, they both looked relatively stressed, but that fact was quickly forgotten as she saw the passenger sitting in Bessie's bench. 

Sasha. Sasha was here! Marcy slotted her controller back into her shift and started to run. "Sasha!" 

"Hey Mar-Mar!" Sasha hopped out of the seat, and caught Marcy with open arms, hoisting her up and spinning her while Marcy giggled. Cheerleading had always made Sasha pretty strong but spec-ing as a warrior in Amphibia had only made her stronger.

It was really her! She was alive and okay, Marcy could still make things right! "Oh my god Sasha, was that you who caused that boom up in the mountains? Where have you been? What's it like outside of the valley? Your armor is so cool!" Marcy tapped it with her fingernail, "is this Newtopian Steel?" she had read about the material, it was supposed to be several times finer than the best smithing outside the capital. 

Sasha chuckled, posing with her armor gleaming slightly in the moonlight, "It is pretty cool." Sasha agreed. She let out a little sigh of relief, "Man I have to say I was worried about you out here on your own. Thought for sure you'd gotten eaten by something by now..." she said it like it was a joke, but there was an edge of genuine worry underneath.

Marcy chuckled, "came close a couple of times, but I had some good people looking out for me..." Marcy took in an excited breath before pulling Sasha in for another hug, placing her head on her shoulder, "It's so good to see you!"

Sasha laughed, hugging her back "It's good to see you too Marcy."

Looking behind Sasha, she saw Hop Pop approaching with Polly in hand. He looked happy for Marcy, if a little wary. 

"Well, hello there, you must be-" Hop Pop started, but Anne and Sprig stepped forward. 

"Hey Mr. Sundew!" Anne said a little anxiously, and Marcy looked at her a little confused. "This is Sasha! She's here with the Newtopian Army."

"Uh, yeah Anne, I can see that." Hop Pop said with a raised brow, "why'd you-"

"Yeah!" Anne barreled over his question with a bit of urgency. Anne was keeping her cool, but Sprig looked nervous. Really nervous… "they're here for the mayor." 

Anne's eyes were pleading for Hop Pop to catch on, but he wasn't quite there yet. Sasha tried to turn towards the conversation but Marcy hugged on tighter to keep her occupied as she tried to piece together what was happening. 

Hop Pop glanced between Sasha and Anne, made wary by Sprig’s nervous behavior. "For Toadstool? For the corruption?" Hop Pop guessed, but was skeptical. Corruption didn't get the army called down on you, Toadstool was evidence enough for that. 

"No, Mayor Plantar, he's wanted for treason." Anne said, making urgent eye contact with Marcy. 

"Say Hwhaaat!?" Hop Pop Exclaimed. 

"I know, shocking right Mr. S? I mean I never met him personally, but he seemed like such a good guy."

Marcy felt a low level of panic set in. The tower, they were blaming him for the tower. Her eyes flashed to one of the nearby patrols of the militia. They hadn't been trained for a rebellion, they had been trained to protect the town from the bigger creatures that wandered the valley. Even if they were capable and willing, she wouldn't want them to fight, it would be a bloodbath. 

"Alright," Sasha reached up and pried Marcy loose, "little clingy there girl." Sasha criticized before turning back towards Anne and Hop Pop. "Anyways, might as well get this over with. Sasha adjusted herself, a number of people were starting to come out of their houses at the news of a new arrival. "People of Wartwood, I am Captain Sasha Waybright of the Newtopian Army! We're here to capture and execute the traitor Hopediah Plantar!" As if waiting on a cue, the sound of marching could be heard from the road behind them. "As long as you all cooperate, you will be spared any hardship!" 

The frogs of Wartwood all collectively blinked and looked past Sasha to where Marcy, Anne, and the Plantars stood. Sasha followed the stare and then sighed turning back to the gathering crowd, "yes, I am a human just like Anne and Marcy," she rubbed at her eyes, "gawk if you must, but please focus."

"Okay..." Anne whispered, "if we make a run for it-"

"It will only make it worse for all of us." Hop Pop said with a sigh. He contemplated a moment before looking up at Marcy. Marcy for her part was biting at her thumb, paralyzed by the number of bad choices available to them. "Marcy." He pulled at her sweatshirt to get her to crouch down. Marcy complied, not really thinking about it as he handed Polly to her. "I'm gonna go and try to talk my way out of this, but if I can't... please take care of Sprig and Polly" he smiled sadly, before pulling them all in for a big hug.

Marcy felt her throat close up, only processing what he was saying a moment too late, as Hop Pop squared his shoulders and started walking towards Sasha. Marcy couldn't fight Sasha, but she couldn't let Hop Pop go through with this.

"Sasha?" Hop Pop said and Sasha turned to him with an impatient frown. Marcy could confess, it was the only play. Marcy felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find a sympathetic Anne, at a loss for words. Marcy felt tears sting her eyes. How would Anne look at her when she found out? "The truth of the matter is-" Marcy took a step forward ready to interject.

Felicia Sundew acted first, stepping in front of Hop Pop, "truth is, no one's seen him all night!" she said, hands open. "Or at least I haven't, how about the rest of you?"

Marcy slowed to a stop a few steps behind Hop Pop. There was a beat before others started to join in. 

"I think I saw him at the Grub n' Go earlier today!"

"Was he even in town today? I haven't seen him all week."

"I think I saw him heading out of town while the fireworks were going off."

Marcy watched a newt in fine armor much like Sasha's came to stand next to her. Sasha let out a sigh, "looks like he's gone to ground, Yunan."

"Told you the explosion would tip em' off." Yunan said with a sigh.

"I figured he'd have more stones than that." Sasha said with a shake of her head. She made a beckoning gesture and one of the army newts rushed up, "Start gathering information. Those green shirts look like part of the private army he set up, tell them if they disarm and help with the search they will be shown leniency."

While Sasha and Yunan started to organize a manhunt, Felicia turned to Hop Pop and Marcy and gave them a shooing gesture. "Go!" she whispered urgently. Hop Pop looked aghast at everyone covering for them and nodded appreciatively before heading off towards Bessie. Marcy looked around a little bewildered, feeling a great deal of relief. 

"You're crushing me..." Polly complained from her abdomen where Marcy was holding her far too tight in her arms. 

"Sorry Polly..." Marcy apologized, loosening her grip a bit. 

Anne came up beside them as Sasha walked up, "alright, this is probably going to take awhile... You two go back to the… Sundew's? And pack your stuff up. If we do find Plantar we could leave as early as tomorrow morning." Sasha advised. 

Marcy was inclined to accept, but Anne had a better idea, "makes sense! Do you want to come with us? We can show you where we've been staying, and we can catch up." Anne said with a smile.

If they could talk to Sasha alone... "It would be really great to catch up with you." Marcy agreed, now understanding the play. 

"Hm..." Sasha mulled over the offer, but was cut off before she could answer. 

"Captain, you will not skulk away!" The general was surrounded by Newts either delivering news or asking for orders, "You brought this circus of an army with us, you'll help me maintain it." Yunan demanded before grumbling, "this is why I prefer working alone."

"Yeah, sorry, duty calls. She may be a one woman army, but Yunan is not a people person." Sasha shrugged, "Besides, I know what a basement looks like.” she added a little snidely, “We'll have weeks to catch up on the road to Newtopia." 

Marcy tried to think of some way to argue against that, but couldn't. Sasha seemed for a moment to look at them suspiciously but ears perked up as a voice called out through the din of activity around Wartwood, 

"For I am General Yunan! Scourge-"

"Not again," Sasha groaned, "I'll see you girls in a little bit." Sasha waved them off with a waggle of her fingers before striding off to bark orders at the newts surrounding Yunan.

Marcy and Anne looked at each other nervously before rushing back towards Bessie. The entire Plantar family packed onto the bench and rode off away from town back towards the farm.

"You know I thought about it." Sprig said, breaking the silence, "Anne you’re my favorite human after Marcy"

"So girls..." Hop Pop started, glancing back at them, "how likely is your friend to hear us out and show mercy?"

Anne and Marcy glanced at each other.

"We have to get you out of the valley," Marcy stated.

Anne nodded, "Definitely." 

---

They weren't getting anywhere. Sasha and Yunan looked out from a statue at the center of town. In theory everything was going well. The citizens were cooperating, they had faced no resistance, but they weren’t any closer to finding their prey. 

The toads had vastly overstated the severity of the rebellion, no one here was looking for a fight. Though there definitely was something to it, their mounted scouts had reported back. The Tower was in ruins, with two monstrously sized tomato plants squatting in its corpse. Someone definitely did that. 

Sasha was listening to another update from one of her subordinates, giving what useless information they had rung out of the locals.  

Yunan was standing next to her with shark-like focus. "That's the fourth 'description' of Hopediah we've gotten."

"mhmm…" Sasha agreed.

"None of them have matched."

"... haaaa." Sasha stood up from the pedestal, "I was hoping this was going to be easy..." She put two fingers to her lips and blew out a whistle. "They're hiding him somewhere, toss the place!" the army newts nodded, getting to work. Sasha turned to Yunan "Might as well call in the toads, this is basically their specialty."

Before long the townsfolk were in clear distress, as army newts and toads started to rifle through their houses, pulling up floorboards, emptying cabinets, and overturning furniture. They may all have been colluding to hide the traitor before, but such sentiment rarely survived once one's own property was at stake. Frogs begged with the soldiers to stop, but to no avail. Sasha and Yunan stood at the center of it all, cool and composed, ready to call off the search the moment someone was ready to talk. 

Grime was busy at the moment, shouting at two toads that had been residing in town. Sasha gathered they were likely also survivors from the tower who hadn’t reported in. With a winning personality like Grime’s, it was hard to imagine.

Sasha saw a yellow frog with a long ginger braid from earlier pleading with a pair of toads as they heaved a cabinet outside and started to dump jar after jar to clatter and shatter onto the incomplete cobblestone road. She looked in great distress at the piles of dirt? Maybe tea leaves? Sasha wandered over as she seemed to consider how to salvage the collection before giving up. "So. You sure you haven't seen him all night?" 

The woman frog scowled up at Sasha as a number of other distressed townsfolk gathered around. "Do you know how long it took me to collect all these?"

"Much longer than it would take to tell us what we need to know, I'm sure." Sasha replied with no sympathy. 

"What did Hopediah even do to be labeled a traitor!?" the woman asked a little outraged, "I swear if this is do to some nonsense Toadstool told you-"

"Who?" Sasha shook her head, not really caring, "He's wanted for a number of small things, but the big one would have to be that he orchestrated the destruction of Toad Tower. Along with the death of over half of its garrison."

There were some gasps along with murmuring. Was this possibly... news to them?  

"Hopediah? No, the tower was attacked by herons..." The woman said. 

Wow, she had to give the mayor credit. He managed to get rid of the highest authority in the valley, and then seize power without anyone even noticing his hand in the works. "Well according to reports the herons didn't act on their own, they were summoned. Hopediah apparently snuck a creature into the tower, he was spotted recovering it after the destruction was in progress."

"A creature?" the woman asked hesitantly.

One of the toads, red with spots, nodded, "didn't seem dangerous at first. It bided its time, allowing itself to be captured." the toad said, with a tone somewhere between anger and fear, "just waited for nightfall when its power would peak. It escaped, rampaging through the tower, in a hail of fire and chaos."

Sasha saw some frogs turn to talk to whisper to one another. Though she couldn't make out more than 'mantis' and 'burned'.

A second toad, dingy green skin with long dark green hair spoke with a frown, "with a flick of its fingers summoned tomato plants in the courtyard... they ate Bog..." she sniffed. A toad in armor cobbled together from scrap metal patted her on the back. 

Again tittering, 'Plantar' and 'sold' were what Sasha heard. 

The first toad spoke up again, " from the top of the tower walls it let out an unnatural bellow, and summoned a heron down upon us. Then vanished from the wall "

"We call them The Red Moon Witch." Grime growled, glancing at Sasha, who stared daggers back at him. He couldn’t wait to have him taken in for insubordination. 

While the explanation had certainly gotten everyone talking, it seemed more to be unrelated gossip of some manner. This was becoming a headache to deal with. Over the crowd she could see a kind of diner. From the doors a blue frog came stumbling out, red in the face and falling over himself. 

Town drunks were usually a crapshoot when it came to gathering information, but at this point Sasha was willing to roll the dice. 

The frog in question was trying to gain his feet, dusting off a stupid looking hat when he focused in on Sasha, "Oh, hey nother' one of yous." The frog had one eye shut tight. "Used ta be scared of yous, but learned better. Mrcy saved the town." he said, gesturing up and nearly knocking himself off balance. 

"Yep, I'm a friend of Marcy's" Sasha agreed, "say, you haven't seen the mayor tonight have you?" Sasha asked in a pleasant tone of voice. 

"Nupe. Been enjoying Stumpies for the last few hours. He usually comes at midday though." the blue frog provided, seeming to think he was helpful.

Sasha sighed, this was going to take forever. "Alright, thanks I guess. Say, which way should I head to get to the Sundew's Farm?" If this was going to become a multiday manhunt, she would have to go tell the girls. Such a pain in the-

"The Sundews don't have a farm!?" the blue frog said as if the notion was ridiculous. 

Sasha paused, suddenly a dozen sour notes felt like they were harmonizing. "Really?" She prompted neutrally. 

"Yeah! They run a little cafe in town." He gestured towards the building that looked like a teapot where that yellow frog lady had been. "They have a little garden, but I'd hardly call that a farm..." 

"Thanks." Sasha said genuinely before turning and stalking off. She found her commanding officer trying to talk to a pair of frogs that looked scared out of their minds. "Yunan!" Her mentor turned and the two frogs took the opportunity to sneak away, "Permission to follow my gut?" 

Yunan looked down at her with a look of trust. There had been a time, when they first started traveling together, that Yunan would have questioned Sasha's intentions. Asked where she was going or what she had planned, but now she only inclined her head. "As you see fit, I expect a full report when you return."

Sasha nodded and walked off towards the edge of town. 

“What signal should I look for?” Yunan asked without worry. 

“I think you’ll hear it just fine…” Sasha replied, 

---

It was madness at the Plantar household. Everything and anything they could gather quickly was being thrown onto or into the fwagon at record speeds. Marcy was busy grabbing any alchemy ingredients she could find along with loading in Petey and Zappy onto the fwagon. Anne had quickly packed her backpack and was now getting the essentials out of the kitchen for cooking on the road. Sprig had retrieved his stuffed animals while Polly was painstakingly choosing the few weapons she would get to bring along with them. Hop Pop had grabbed a number of family heirlooms, including the family shrub, and now manned the fwagon, tying things down and getting Bessie ready.

Marcy pulled her filter mast around her neck before taking one last wistful look around her basement before the twenty minute timer she had set on her phone went off. Happy little bird chirps marking the end of her stay at the Plantar home. "Alright, that's twenty minutes!" She called out and started to rush everyone out. 

"Come on kids!" Hop Pop called from the driver's bench while Marcy rushed towards the cart with her box of evidence of Hop Pop’s innocence. "If we're going to be fugitives from the law, we're at least going to be punctual about it!" 

They all piled onto the fwagon and took off. Hop Pop took the center of the bench while Sprig sat with Polly in his lap. Anne and Marcy stood perched on top of the fwagon as they raced down the long way around Wartwood. Marcy's heart hammered in her chest despite the serene quiet of the night. Worried some soldier would catch sight of them and raise the alarm. Fortune favored them though as they slipped by unnoticed. 

"Marcy, we can't just leave Sasha here." Anne fretted as they headed into the wood below the mountain. 

Marcy nodded, she had been thinking this over, "okay, so here's the plan. We'll stick with the Plantars to see them safely out of the valley. Then I'll send a message to Sasha and the two of us will back track on foot to talk to her." she glanced over to 

"Wait, what, we're separating?" Sprig turned in his seat, eyes wide and worried. 

"For a little while." Marcy crouched down awkwardly pulling him into a hug from behind. His little froggy hands wrapped around Marcy's arm. "Once we can explain things to Sasha, I'll send out a little messenger golem to you three telling you where we should meet up... Or,,, if we shouldn't..." Marcy felt a quaver in her voice at the end but did her best to suppress it. "I won't let anything happen to you." she pulled him in tighter

They were climbing up the pass now. to the right of them was the steep slope created when the pass into the valley was forged. To the left was a much steeper drop off down the length of the mountain, one that grew higher and deadlier with every passing moment. 

Marcy spent a little bit of time writing a note out to Sasha, one she could send by golem once this was all over. It was difficult to manage, what with the cart bumping and swaying underneath her, but Anne kept a steadying hand on her shoulders as they went. Eventually she felt like she had gotten something pretty good. Maybe not enough to keep Sasha from yelling at them, but maybe enough to keep her from killing them.

Still, Marcy was confident they'd be able to reach some kind of compromise. Sasha was their best friend. She'd understand how important Hop Pop and the Plantars were to her. She just knew it.

"Uh, Marce?" Anne said cautiously from behind her before pointing up ahead of them. Marcy followed the gesture hesitantly. About fifteen feet up above the coming bend in the road was a raised stony outcropping on the road. Resting casually atop it, one leg dangling over the side was Sasha. One hand patted at a red roach by her side while her gaze bore into Marcy and Anne. 

Marcy's heart sank at the gaze; but Sasha didn't attack, or get up, or even yell at them as they passed out of view of each other. On instinct Marcy looked ahead as Sprig turned around, "was that Sasha up there?" 

"I didn't get a good look!" Polly called over the rushing wind. 

"Huh? Wha?" Hop Pop looked up and around for any sign of the third human and missed what was coming. 

They turned around the bend and Marcy saw... something in the road about 20 yards ahead of them. Had she been any less alert she would have thought it a few bits of rubble or rock. But they were in too neat of a row stretching across the whole of the pass. Then she realized what they were. They all had the gentle curve and hue of a mushroom she had become intimately familiar with that day. 

They had no time to break, even if she warned Hop Pop his reaction time wouldn't be fast enough and Bessie would plow right into them. Marcy staggered to a standing position, placed one foot in the space between Hop Pop and Sprig and then leapt forward, gracelessly, to jump onto Bessie's shell. 

"Marcy!" came a chorus of worried voices behind her. 

Marcy landed hard and started to slip, she had jumped slightly too far to the right! She felt two Amphibian tongues and the pull tether her and gave her just enough leverage to center herself. Marcy focused on the road ahead of them. She'd have to time this out just right. She raised one arm in preparation. About ten feet from the line of boom shrooms, she wrapped her knuckles on Bessie's shell seven times, mumbling to herself, "Shave and a haircut. Two bits."

Bessie let out a chirp of recognition and just before stampeding into her death, squatted down and leapt, tossing and untethered Marcy up into the air as well. Anne caught her with magic and pulled back into her arms then put a bubble barrier around the two of them. The big snail's leap was so strong that the front of the wagon popped up with Bessie, letting the front wheels narrowly avoid calamity. The back wheels were not so lucky. As the front of the fwagon came back to earth the back was hurled up as the line of boom shrooms detonated in a splintering kaboom. 

After a chilling moment of hang time the back end came back down with a thunk and screech. The Plantars were held firm by the seatbelts Marcy had installed, but she and Anne went ping ponging inside the barrier bubble. Bessie was panicking, dragging the wagon through the dirt, tearing up the bumper. Hop Pop wrestled with the reins trying to pull a panicking Bessie to a stop. The snail eventually complied as, without wheels, the fwagon was far too heavy for her to pull.

Marcy let out a groan of pain as she looked around, "everyone okay?"

"More or less." Polly agreed.

Hop Pop held up an okay gesture, "Sore, but that’s nothing new."

"I think I'm gonna hurl..." Sprig said from his seat. 

Marcy reached back, putting a hand to Anne's head. "Anna Banana?"  Anne was still wrapped around her protectively.

"Blugh... lots of bruises, but I think I'm alright."

Marcy let out a sigh of relief, and the two of them got off the wagon to go look at the damage. The back wheels were little more than kindling at this point. Fortunately most of the structural integrity was... salvageable. 

From where they had just come from was the sound of dirt and gravel tinking down a slope. From that outcropping Sasha was standing and with the casual air of someone in their element, She slid down the steep slope. She dismounted the slope with just the slightest bend of a knee to absorb the impact. 

"Little trick I picked up from Yunan." she called out, strolling up, "If you leave a trap on the most obvious path of escape then leave it unguarded..." with the side of her armored boot she kicked aside a decent size stone that had been shaken loose by the explosion. It skipped once before plunging off the side of the mountain pass into the canyon below. "Monsters, criminals… ex-friends? They’ll rush headlong into it."

Sasha came to a stop, the red light of the moon illuminating the stone cold anger of her features. Marcy trembled slightly. She never thought she would end up on this side of that stare. 

"Goin’ somewhere?"

---

Marcy was eleven, and coming home from school after the day following winter break. They had gotten their grades back and she had gotten straight A's!... minus P.E. Marcy had always done well in school, but that was elementary school. Grades barely mattered back then. Now it was like, official! 

"That's great sweetheart," Her mother says in passing as she went out to go grocery shopping. 

Her father nodded looking through some article on his phone. "Hm? Good job." The right words with none of the sincerity. When Marcy hung around for any other words of encouragement, her father met her with a scowl of impatience.

Right. This wasn't anything special. She was supposed to do well in school. It was her job. It was expected of her. She could understand.

She slipped the report card into the recycles before heading up to her room. 

It's about half a year later; Sasha, Anne and Marcy were cooped up in Anne's room cramming for the math final. Well, Anne and Sasha were, Marcy was just there to lend a hand. Snack wrappers and cans of soda littered the room. 

"Anne what'd you get for-" Sasha started but Anne waved her off. 

"Can't think, brain fried." Anne said, her book covering over her face like a facemask

"You sound like your going to pass out." Sasha said with half a grin, which was promptly followed by Anne beginning to snore. "Holy shit,” Sasha looked at Anne incredulously, “Marcy quick hand me a marker." Marcy obliged, making sure it was one of the non-toxic kind that washed off easily. "Show you leaving me alone to study Boonchuy..."

Marcy giggled as Sasha removed the book and started to doodle over Anne's face. Marcy had shown them how to do the formulas and had set them off to do a couple of practice problems from their books. For the moment she was just flicking through some manga on her phone, her back against Anne's bed.

"Thanks for all the help by the way Marce. Ms. Kay is garbage at teaching." Sasha said, tongue poking out as she filled in a big black eye with ink. "How you figured this all out is astounding to me."

"It's not a big deal," Marcy dismissed. "it's not that hard… anyone could do it…"

"Wow," Sasha said, pausing in her doodling with an incredulous expression, turning to Marcy, "can't believe you'd burn me and Anne like that." She raised a brow.

Marcy got flustered, "No, I didn't mean-"

"Relax Marce," Sasha rolled her eyes, glancing back at her. "I'm teasing. But seriously, don't sell yourself short. This stuff is difficult and you learned it by yourself. You even managed to teach both of us, something an actual teacher couldn't." She finished doodling long nose hair on Anne before scooching back to sit next to Marcy.

"I don't know if that's really praise worthy... it just comes naturally to me."

"So you're talented? So what?" Sasha poked at Marcy's shoulder. "We've all got our strengths, and you're basically a genius. Be proud of it. You got straight A’s, right?"

“Not in P.E…” 

“Pff.” Sasha scoffed, “P.E. doesn’t count.”

Marcy nodded, feeling a bit of confidence buoy in her chest. "Thanks Sash..."

"Just pointing out the obvious dummy" Sasha reached up and started messing with her hair until Marcy started to bat away at her. Eventually resorting to falling to the side to get away, both of them giggling. 

Anne started to stir and sat up, her entire face graffitied, which only made Sasha and Marcy laugh harder. 

---

"You two were going to ditch me?" Sasha said, eye almost twitching. 

"Sash..." Anne stepped forward, hands out. Despite experiencing what was essentially a car wreck a few moments ago, she felt more nervous now. 

"For some slimy old frog?" a bitter laugh came from her mouth, incredulous and biting. 

"Sasha, please, let's talk about this." Behind her, Anne could hear Marcy giving out instructions to the Plantars.She asked Polly to fix the wheels and Sprig to assist her. Then, when they had gone inside, asked Hop Pop to just make a run for it with Bessie if things went south. 

"Oh, we'll have plenty of time to talk about this, after I've done my job." Sasha spoke, accepting no arguments.  

Anne heard Marcy coming up behind her., "Sasha-"

"Anne. We're done talking about this." Sasha's eyes drew cold and fierce, "Get out of my way."

Anne felt a shiver of fear run down her spine at the words. Felt old insecurities creeping in around the edges of her new found confidence. Was Hop Pop hiding something else? But he had been willing to confess earlier in town. Confusion at the situation started to buckle her resolve under Sasha's unwavering confidence. 

Then Anne felt Marcy take her hand in hers, Anne looked back at Marcy. Her girlfriend looked nervous too, but wasn't backing down. Marcy squeezed Anne's hand reassuringly and Anne took a steadying breath.

"Sasha, we weren't going to ditch you. Promise." Marcy said, and Sasha slowed to a reluctant stop, "we were just going to see them out of the valley and come back to talk." Marcy held up a little origami bird and it fluttered off to Sasha. 

Sasha took the bird into her palm, scowl forming, "Oh, well that makes it all better. It wasn't that you two were lying to my face and ditching me.” She crushed the paper golem in her hand before tossing it aside. “You were just lying to my face to make me look like an idiot." 

"The Plantars are really important to me, they- they took me in when I first got here and- and-" Marcy spoke in a ramble, but Sasha cut her off. 

"and stuffed you in a basement. Marcy," Sasha rubbed at her eyes, "get a grip. They're frogs, like those things you got an 'A' for dissecting last semester. Who you will never see again once we leave this backwater valley."

Anne saw Marcy flinch at the words, her turn then. "Sasha, let's compromise," Anne frowned as Sasha rolled her eyes impatiently, "you said you knew the king right? Can’t you just arrest the mayor and bring us to him? Let him plead our case? I'm sure this is just some misunderstanding."

Sasha's eyes were wide, incredulous. "You want me to burn the clout and goodwill I have built up in the capital to help you save some geriatric war criminal?"

Anne frowned, "okay,” she paused brows knitted together, “what exactly has he been accused of? We might have had our differences, but ‘war criminal’ seems extreme."

"Fine, let's start with the small stuff then." Sasha said, frustrated but clearly willing to prove them wrong. "So first, throwing out the result of the election to seize power in the valley." 

Anne frowned, unable to comment since that was before her time. 

"That was actually mostly me." Marcy said, raising a free hand. "But Toadstool actually did try to steal that election, not Hop Pop. I exposed his fraud. I have some evidence in the fwagon."

Sasha took a slow breath, "I'm sorry, fwagon?" she asked. 

"... family wagon." Marcy elaborated, a little embarrassed. "...Fwagon."

Sasha's face scrunched up in frustration. Muttering something under her breath, before speaking up, "Fine, second, establishing a private military-"

"Militia." Marcy corrected hesitantly. 

Sasha raised a brow in question. 

"A militia. Again, my idea. I’m part of it actually” Marcy turned to show her snail patch on her shoulder. “After Toad Tower was no longer able to defend everyone, I suggested we establish a militia to defend the valley. They're only trained to fight bugs and critters." Marcy explained, "This is within his powers as mayor, on the assumption his election was legitimate."

Anne smiled, her plan could work! There was a reasonable explanation for everything. With Sasha backing them up the king would listen and everything would be fine. 

"Ah, Toad Tower, about that..." Anne felt Marcy's hand clench in hers. "That's really the sticking point for Newtopia. You see Hop Pop was seen consorting with some kind of... demon? Monster?" she shrugged, not really caring, "that destroyed Toad Tower and killed over half of its garrison." Anne frowned in shock. She tried to imagine Hop Pop, a man who she had seen struggling with carrying a light load upstairs, unleashing some kind of creature capable of that destruction. "Snuck it into the tower, then retrieved it upon its successful slaughter." Sasha said, clearly repeating the phrasing from memory. "So, unless you want to go ahead and claim credit for that as well Mar-Mar, the rest is really small potatoes." Sasha smirked, clearly feeling she had won this argument. 

Had someone framed Hop Pop, maybe Grime or that Toadstool guy? Where would he even hide a monster like that?

Before Anne could voice a theory, she felt as Marcy let go of her hand and take half a step forward. "So... Here are the order of events as I know them. When Anne first arrived, she landed outside Toad Tower. She escaped, but Grime was badly injured in the chase, and harbored a grudge against humans because of it."

"Marcy..." Sasha said with a half chuckle of disbelief. 

Marcy pressed on, and Anne got a sinking feeling in her stomach, "Later, a trio of toads visited Wartwood to collect taxes, mistook me for Anne and arrested me. I was kept in a cell and was threatened to be used as live monster bait if I didn't tell him where Anne was."

"Marcy." Sasha now said the name more harshly as Marcy continued to detail the experience. 

Marcy didn't, starting to nervously rub at her thumb nail. "I was scared, but luckily Sprig, Maddie, and Ivy; some of my friends from Wartwood," she clarified to Sasha, "came to break me out. But before we could slip away, we were discovered by Grime. So we ran.” Marcy's voice became emotional, "until we were cornered on the outer wall. With the giant herons stalking about the forests outside. I tried to reason with him, but..." Marcy's shoulder's heaved, "but he wouldn't listen and I needed something, something that would keep them occupied… and I had these tomato seeds-"

"Marcy?" Anne asked, not quite believing what she had told her. Marcy flinched at Anne’s voice but turned slightly to listen, “But tomato plants are small here… how could they…”

“Petey is cursed to be small… Normal tomato plants in Amphibia can reach over 30 feet tall and… and eat people” Marcy admitted. Marcy flinched at what must have been a look of dawning horror on Anne’s face. Marcy’s eyes grew wet, swallowing down a lump in her throat. Her mouth hung open for a few seconds, searching for words before she finally said, "he was going to kill them Anne."

Anne felt a deep gut wrenching pain inside her. She could see the pain the event had caused Marcy written all over her face. What it had cost her to be Sprig's hero. She hated Grime at that moment for pushing her friend that far. But Anne couldn't deny a part of her that now feared Marcy. Of what she was capable of.

But that didn't stop Anne from stepping forward and pulling Marcy into a tight hug.

Marcy leaned into the embrace, sniffling and wiping away tears from her face, catching her breath. Once she had calmed down she finished up, "I passed out from blood loss right after we got out of the tower. The survivors probably saw Hop Pop come and take me away. He was just there to beg the Toads to release me. There wasn’t any plan"

Anne considered the version Sprig had told her Sprig hadn't lied to her... he was just 10. he didn't really understand the severity of what had happened... For a moment Anne empathized with Hop Pop. She still didn't forgive him for trying to steal the box from them, but she was starting to understand what drove him to it.

Sasha for her part looked genuinely shocked, and for a short time just ran a hand through her hair. Finally settling on: "...Fuck." Sasha stepped forward, and when the girls flinched back slightly she held up her hands in a gesture that said she didn't intend any trouble. Then closed the distance and wrapped her arms around Marcy as well. 

For a few moments, Anne felt like everything would be alright. Not good, far from good, but alright. The three of them were together again. They could take on this world together. 

Then Sasha pulled slightly out of the hug, making eye contact back and forth with Anne and Marcy, whispering conspiratorially, "Okay. We can get through this, but we all have to get on the same page." she said and Anne nodded, grateful to have Sasha take charge and give some direction. "First things first, you two need to stand aside and let me kill that frog." 

Anne and Marcy looked at her confused, Anne was the first to gather herself, "Sasha, weren't you listening? Hop Pop didn't do anything-"

"We. Need. A scapegoat." 

Anne and Marcy backed away in shock. "What?" Marcy croaked out.

"We need to wrap this up and bury it so no one with authority figures out Marcy's involvement" Sasha explained earnestly. 

"But... Grime. C-" Anne paused, feeling nauseous at the thought of all this. "Can't we pin this on him, he's the real cause of all this."

"Oh We're going to absolutely torch his reputation. We  have to discredit him so no one believes him about Marcy." Sasha nodded in partial agreement, "but no one is going to buy that he destroyed his own tower. Treason is still treason, you can't blow up a military base just cause the commander's a jackass. And right now? Anyone important thinks that frog did it," Sasha gestured vaguely behind Marcy and Anne, "if we try to pin it on anyone else then they are going to take a closer look at all this, and we don't want that." Sasha insisted urgently. 

Anne felt her mouth go dry as she started shaking her head.

Marcy shook in Anne's arms, "No, we... we can't-"

"'We' don't have to do anything. Just stand aside and I'll take care of it." Sasha said, her voice gaining an edge to it. 

Marcy looked up to Anne desperately, "Anne, please we can't let her."

Anne felt her mouth go dry, "Okay, can't we let them go and then say you threw them off the mountain"

"Yunan won't believe it unless she sees the body or does it herself." Sasha shook his head, “and again, the more time we spend here the greater chance Marcy’s involvement comes to light.”

Anne felt a familiar dread start to settle in, much worse than ever before. "Sash, we can find another-"

"Anne, this isn't cute anymore." Sasha's eyes grew cold, "We're done talking about this. Keep Marcy here." Order given, she moved to simply step past the two of them. For a moment Anne simply did what she was asked, tightening her hug on a now struggling Marcy. Just before Sasha could pass by both of them however, Anne held up a hand and put it on her chest, shoving the blonde back and away. 

Sasha stumbled back, more out of surprise than genuine force. Anne stepped away from Marcy shaking her head, "This is wrong." Anne stated it as fact, taking a shaky breath. 

"Anne."  Sasha said warningly. 

Anne clenched her fists, her legs felt a little wobbly and her stomach was tied in knots, but she couldn't back down. "I won't let you do this."

Sasha glowered at Anne but startled as the sound of something was coming up from behind her on the road. Rounding the bend on a blue roach, General Yunan came racing around the bend. As she pulled it to a stop, the roach collapsed clearly out of breath from their sprint. "Ah! Captain, I see your hunch paid off..." Yunan said jovially before taking in the full scene. "Or did your friends get caught up in our little trap? Your initiative is commendable, however I am afraid we are not ready to leave the valley!” Yunan informed jovially, “You must be Marcy, Sasha’s other friend, a pleasure. We must have missed each other earlier. I am General Yunan S…" She started but then finally read the mood. "I'm missing something, aren't I?"

Anne made eye contact with Sasha, pleading for her to back them up. 

Sasha maintained eye contact and took a breath, "The old orange frog is the mayor. He's tricked my friends into thinking he's innocent."

"Ah..." Yunan's eyes grew contemplative. "Unfortunate." Yunan's eyes grew hard to match Sasha's. 

Anne pulled her hand back in a spell gesture and erected a 15 foot spectral blue barrier across the entirety of the pass. Sasha looked shocked  "I'll try to hold this as long as possible! try to fix the-" before she could finish Yunan casually rushed towards the wall bordering the pass. She crawled up it like a lizard up and around the barrier, before flipping off in a flourish to land behind Anne. 

Anne dropped the barrier, summoning up her gauntlets and armor, intending to turn and fight Yunan, but Sasha rushed forward, pulling out her spear, the head with a heavy burlap and swung at Anne, forcing her into focusing on dueling Sasha.

---

Marcy backed away from Yunan, holding her hands out in an attempt to slow or delay her. The newt strode forward, uncaring of her attempts, eyes set on the wagon behind them.

Marcy glanced back, they had managed to fix one of the wheels but hadn't even started on the second. She had told Hop Pop to just take Bessie and flee if it came to it, but why wasn't he. 

"Miss Yunan, please listen to me, this is all a big misunderstanding." Marcy insisted with a lopsided smile. 

There was some compassion behind her eyes, but it was buried beneath an unstoppable wall of determination. She looked over to where Sprig and Polly were working, both nervously glancing back at Marcy.  Yunan looked back at Marcy with a sympathetic expression, "if you care for this family, I suggest you take the little ones inside the wagon. There's no reason for them to see this." 

"No, stop, he didn't do anything!" Marcy stopped backing up and started pushing against Yunan, digging in her heels. Yunan picked her up by the back of her collar and tossed her aside towards the mountain.

Marcy scrambled to her feet going again to stand in her way, "Please you can't," tears were pooling in her eyes. She tried to stay focused, looking for a weapon on Yunan, but finding no sword or spear or even a dagger. That was okay though. All she had to do was buy time till Hop Pop unhitched Bessie-

Marcy felt a hand on her left hip and looked down to see Hop Pop looking up at her with sad but resigned eyes. "Marcy, you don't have to do this."

Marcy looked forward again, up at Yunan who gave a nod of respect down to Hop Pop, "a noble final act," she said before pulling back her fist, two long deadly blades ejecting from the hilt. 

"No!" Polly cried.

"Hop Pop!" Followed Sprig.

Marcy's eyes shone off the blades before she felt herself hit a breaking point. 

Then a familiar sensation. 

She stopped feeling the cool altitude of the mountain. The burning sting of tears in her eyes. The dirt under her nails. The world stopped in its tracks. Marcy took a deep breath, and surveyed the scene, stepping out from her frozen body. Anne and Sasha were sparring, Sprig was screaming out next to a genuinely scared Polly. Reaching for his slingshot. 

Marcy took a moment to look at the first wheel. It was certainly slapdash, what with the limited time she had, but she was really proud of Polly's workmanship. It would certainly get them through the mountains at any rate, barring any additional mushroom traps. 

"Well this is a pickle." said her own voice. Marcy looked up, and sitting on the back roof of the fwagon was Ram, green eyes surveying everything from the higher vantage point. "Still, a lot more manageable than last time." They hopped off the wagon to land next to Marcy with a professional smile. "So, shall we get to work?"

Marcy let out a sigh, then nodded. 

---

Yunan hated complications. 

Or at least, she hated these kinds of complications. More enemies than expected? Wonderful. An ambush during parlay? Exciting. Having to rescue a hostage from a dishonorable vagabond? Thrilling . 

But this wasn’t that kind of mission. No, here the complications were just… sad.

This Hopediah clearly wasn't some frog warlord, hell bent on conquest. He was a scared old man who had gotten in over his head. Sad. 

He was running away with two young children. Ideally they had family nearby they could stay with, however given the age of their current guardian, that wasn't likely. No in all likelihood Yunan would have to bring them back to a Newtopian orphanage. Sad.

Then of course there was Sasha's friend, tearfully begging Yunan to back down. Sad.

Yunan would do her duty, but there was no glory here. 

Yunan preferred hunting down hardened criminals or monsters. They were simple. Black and white. She couldn't just spare a traitor, it might inspire others to rebel. They were lucky they could nip this one in the bud. Open rebellion would have meant many more sad children with no guardians. 

Ugh, now the mayor was coming to give himself up. She couldn't even console herself by calling him a coward. "Marcy, you don't have to do this," he said with compassion.

"A noble final act." Yunan conceded before drawing her blades ready to end the old traitor's life. A call of panic from the children as she plunged the blade down. Then Marcy took a knee and shot her left hand out protectively, allowing it to get impaled in place of the frog. Her right hand braced the other, holding it back. 

"Gah!" the girl said in pain and Yunan retracted her blade in shock. 

"Yunan! What the hell!" Sasha called out from behind her. 

"She jumped in front of the blade!" Yunan complained before turning back, expecting to see the girl clutching her wound in regret. 

Instead she found the human transformed. Gone was the scared child begging for the life of an old frog, now there was a... blankness to her expression that was almost as unnerving as her emerald eyes. Her undamaged hand held a vial of some red liquid that she brought up to bear in a wide arc that was aimed right at Yunan's eyes. 

She managed to bring up a hand to protect her left eye while the other was splashed. Yunan recognized the fragrant smell of stewed peppers a moment before her right eye started burning in horrible pain. 

Yunan backed away, clutching at her eye in pain while the other reassessed her opponent. Marcy picked the old frog by the collar and tossed him back haphazardly before rushing at Yunan. Her hand dug into her satchel bag and drew out what Yunan assumed was some kind of switchblade. As the girl tried to thrust it into Yunan she brought up her claw to deflect it, successfully she thought, already planning a disarming maneuver. However she found her claw was actually stuck between two metallic prongs, neither of which looked sharp enough to pierce skin, let alone armor. 

Marcy's thumb pressed in on some device in her hand. A brief spark of lightning charged between the two prongs before it traveled through her armor and started to electrocute Yunan. It was a painful new sensation, control of her muscles robbed, making it all the more difficult to remove herself from the source of pain. 

Her one eye looked into her opponents. There was no satisfaction at the attack's success or regret at causing pain. She was still blank. Yunan was forced down to her knees as the charge finally ended, her nerves danced, her hands shook and trembled as she struggled to get back to her feet. 

Yunan watched as the girl backed away, again digging into her bag for another weapon to use while the other pulled the strange bird mask into place. Yunan now fully appreciated the warning Grime had given her. The girl pulled out a vial full of blue dust and uncorked the stopper with her thumb before sliding it over to keep any from escaping. 

Yunan tried to charge, but could only coordinate a stumbling sprint. Marcy, with great precision, started to shake the contents of the vial while backing away. Once, twice, then thrice in the time it took Yunan to close the distance. With each shake inspecting the contents. Yunan flicked out her claws to slash at her opponent, but Marcy full on jumped back, slashing down with the open vial a line of glowing dust that Yunan was jumping directly into.

Just before it detonated. 

---

Sasha traded blow for blow, parry for parry with Anne, but to no avail. Whatever magic armor she was wearing was able to just shrug off every blow. Sasha was able to duck and weave most of Anne's attacks, using her spears range to stave her off. Sasha made an attempt to swing at her head, but Anne ducked, got under her guard and punched her in the face. Sasha staggered back, recovering quickly. She swished around her tongue and spit out a mixture of spit and blood. 

"Gah-" Sasha and Anne paused in their fight seeing Marcy crouched, catching Yunan's blade gauntlets in her hand.

"Yunan! What the hell!?" Sasha called out.

"She jumped in front of the blade!" Yunan responded

Anne turned back to Sasha, clearly emotional and redoubled her attack, robbing Sasha's attention again as the two of them went back to dueling. Now clearly desperate to finish it and help Marcy. Not that she’d make it time to save that frog. 

Sasha had gotten in a few strikes but they were all grazing blows that barely slowed her counterpart down. Turns out all those years of martial arts training paid off. That and no matter how hard she hammered those stupid blue shields of Anne's, they didn't seem to break. Yunan had trained her to recognize openings for attack, but Anne had given her almost nothing to work with.

Course it was difficult to make an opening when she was handicapping herself. Sasha looked at the heavy burlap she had wrapped around her spear head. If she could just threaten Anne enough for her to back down… Sasha held up a hand to unwrap her spear, but hesitated. 

Sasha swung her actual metal sword at the wooden dummy. Her arms were sore from practice already and it was not getting any better. It was her first day without a practice blade.

Yunan circled around her, inspecting her form and blow placement, "If you draw a bladed weapon upon an opponent, you should always be prepared for them to die." Yunan intoned.

"What if I just need to threaten someone?" she swung again. "You know, intimidate them a bit."

"A smart choice. A lethal weapon will give a lot more weight to your threat, and make it more likely to avoid a fight entirely." Yunan agreed, stopping in front of Sasha until she had her student's attention, "and you should still be prepared to watch them die." 

Sasha's hand trembled slightly, gripping the heavy cloth. She looked up to Anne who had a determined but worried expression. Sasha let go and shook her hand out before gripping the shaft of her spear to steady it. Okay, different approach. 

She leaned in over her spear and hissed at Anne impatiently, "Anne, I feel I've been pretty clear about this all night, but the kingdom does not treat traitors well." Anne frowned but didn't relent. "Do you even care what happens to Marcy?" Sasha accused.

That clearly got under her skin, but she was trying to not let it show. "She doesn't want this Sash."

" She is clearly wracked with guilt," Sasha let one hand go off the spear to gesture between the two of them, "it's up to us to make sure she makes it off of this mudball."

"I..." Anne gritted her teeth. "We can't just kill an innocent person, Sasha!"

"Great, maybe we can bury Marcy up on that moral high ground of yours."

Anne's eyes grew wide, opening her mouth, and averting her gaze downward. The briefest flash of pink energy followed the metal butt of Sasha's spear as she swung it into Anne's exposed ribcage. Anne gasped in pain as she went to clutch at her side, she tried to breathe in more, but couldn't. Her magical gauntlets dispersed into sparkles of light as she stumbled onto her knees. She looked at Sasha with a bitter expression.

Unmoved, Sasha flipped her spear around and struck out aiming right at the pretty piece of glowing jewelry Anne had around her neck, getting a satisfying crack out of the strike. Anne fell onto her back, gasping for breath, and tried to get up before Sasha slammed her boot on her chest. Sasha felt a twinge of regret as Anne sneered up at her, but buried it deep down. This wouldn't be happening if they had just cooperated. Sasha let out a sigh, rubbing at her eyes, "wish Marcy never found that stupid box..." Sasha saw Anne’s expression shift to one of deep thought before-

Boom. 

Sasha looked up at the blue smoke suddenly filling the area where Marcy and Yunan had been fighting. 

"Yunan?" she called out, worried, "Marcy?" No response. The smoke clung to the air and then redoubled. Sasha waited a minute before looking down and lifted a boot and stomped down on Anne's chest in warning, "stay down Boonchuy. I'll handle this." Sasha stepped off of Anne's chest striding forward to investigate. A great bellow of wind passed through the mountain pass and blew away the smoke and revealed a sight that Sasha couldn't quite comprehend for a few moments.  

Marcy was standing, which was good. Yunan was unconscious, which was bad. Marcy was holding Yunan by her cape over the lip of the cliff, her eyes glowed green but didn't look like the lovable dork Sasha had grown up with. Far, far from it. "Marcy, what are you doing?"

"Problem solving." Marcy answered neutrally, robotically. No passion in her voice. "You said Yunan wouldn't accept Hop Pop's disappearance without a body. This solves that complication." 

Sasha felt her blood run cold, "Marcy this isn't funny."

"I wasn't trying to be."

How did Yunan lose this matchup? Sasha buried her fear to try to put authority back into her voice, "Marcy, let her go right now. End of-" For half a second Marcy did, opening her grasp on the cape to let the material flow through her bloody hand before catching again. Yunan’s body jerking forward

"I'd be careful with how you phrase things." Marcy suggested, and in the dim red moonlight. 

Sasha suddenly realized that she had rarely had to intimidate Marcy into any of her plans. Unlike Anne, Marcy had been a lot more willing to help out with any mischief or shenanigan Sasha asked of her. A trait she had appreciated much more a few moments ago. "Yunan helped me out a lot in finding you two." 

"And now you have. She has fulfilled that purpose." Marcy responded, as if that was all that needed to be said.

"What the..." Sasha really did not like being on this end of things. "Anne, what’s happening?" she asked, just a little scared and unsure. 

"Empty..." Anne whispered mostly to herself, getting up to a kneeling position. "Mar-Mar? It's okay, we can talk this out..." she said with a voice that shook ever so slightly. “Just drop the spell.” Sasha flicked her gaze back to Marcy.

"Can’t. Objective not secured." Marcy responded, uncaring. 

"This is that power you told me about right?" Anne asked, concern for Marcy clear, "What if you suffer a burnout like I can?" 

"Hm..." Marcy seemed to think about it for a moment before her eyes drained of green and faded back to their usual light brown. The stoic cold look rapidly started to shift to one of panic. Tears started to pool again as Marcy shook with fear looking down at Yunan. Her breath hitched as whatever had possessed Sasha's childhood friend faded away. Her free hand covered her mouth as she started to hyperventilate.

Okay, Sasha could work with this. "Alright, now Marcy, just pull Yunan away from the edge." Sasha took a few steps towards her, but Marcy held up the cape threateningly, focusing back on Sasha. 

"Don't come any closer. D-drop the spear." Marcy demanded. 

Sasha did so, laying the spear down gently and holding her hands up. “Marcy, I know you, you don’t want to do this…”

“I don’t… I really don’t…” Marcy agreed and let out a sad hiccup of a laugh, “but that doesn’t mean I won’t.”

"Marcy, it's cool, I might have been too hasty." Sasha said, putting just the right amount of fear in her voice. Which was easy seeing how shaky the hand holding Yunan was. "Could you pull Yunan away from the edge now please?"

Marcy's eyes flicked back and forth between Anne and Sasha with an intent that Sasha couldn’t read, "Not until you promise. Promise we'll find another way!"

Sasha took a deep breath, "Sure, fine, we'll find a different way. If that old frog means so much to you." It was fine, she just needed to make sure Yunan was safe, "we can find a different way." They could always execute the frog later. 

Marcy looked hopeful but then looked back to Anne as if searching for her opinion. 

Sasha turned with a smile, just slightly reluctant to convince Anne. This was what she had wanted right? A ‘compromise’? However Sasha was slightly worried about what she saw. Anne was staring at her with bright blue eyes. Those eyes soured in disappointment and then looked away. 

Sasha stared confused right up until Marcy spoke, "Damnit Sash..." Sasha looked back, Marcy again looking upset and bitter as she wiped away some tears.

What just happened? "Marcy," Sasha said in warning, taking another half a step forward.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this..."

Sasha just had to get into diving range. "It'll all be alright Marce." Sasha promised, heartbeat racing.

"It-" suddenly the cape slipped through her injured hand and Marcy gasped in pain, reflexively dropping it. Yunan's body limply fell over the edge. 

"Yunan!" Sasha dashed forward, diving for Yunan

"I- I'm sorry," Marcy stepped to the side before Sasha could push her to the side. Sasha dived towards the edge, hand hopelessly reaching down to snatch at Yunan, but she was far too late. Sasha watched with dread as her friend and mentor went into free fall towards the uncaring rocks below. Then suddenly her body started to swing upside down to the side. Sasha stared in bewilderment for a moment before squinting to look closer. She picked out the tether in the dim moonlight, and she followed it up to where her friend's escape wagon was. The rope tied securely onto one of the wheels, the two Plantar kids waving a little nervously towards Sasha. 

Yunan was okay. She had been tricked. Marcy had tricked her.

Marcy had tricked her!?

"I'm really sorry Sash..." Marcy repeated from her other side, voice genuinely full of regret. 

"What the hell Marcy-" Sasha turned, intending to throttle the girl. She turned to find Marcy, one palm held up with some kind of... dust in it? Marcy blew the dust into Sasha's face, and a purple cloud full of sparkles clouded Sasha’s vision. Sasha took a deep breath, hacking and coughing on it as she tried to get up. She waved away the dust but felt her movements become sluggish, slow. Unresponsive. She stared at Marcy, even more furious but couldn't bring herself to act on it. She felt… trapped, bound.

Marcy for her part looked weary and full of regret. She took in a slow breath. She reached into her bag for a flask of cherry red liquid and took a swig, looking down as her hand started to close up the wound Yunan had given her. Sasha followed Marcy as she went over to Anne. Anne was breathing a bit hard, still clutching where Sasha had hit her. Marcy offered her a drink and it seemed to help a little. She draped Anne's arm across her shoulder to let their Thai friend use her like a crutch. "Come on Sash, help me pull Yunan up."  

Sasha followed behind as Marcy sat Anne down on the splintered bumper of the wagon before going over to the ropes. She pulled a glove out of her pocket and slipped it back over her healed hand. Together, the Marcy and Sasha started to pull Yunan up

Sasha did want to pull Yunan up, but she didn’t have a choice . She felt all the steps of the process. the bending of her knees, gripping the coarse texture of the rope as she gripped it tightly, and the strain as she pulled up the armor newt back up the cliff face. But frighteningly, she didn't feel in control for a second of it.

As Sasha finally pulled Yunan up to the lip of the canyon, Marcy reached down and turned her body face up on the solid ground. Yunan's chest plate had been dented in and there were places where her skin had been singed. One eye was puffy and irritated. Marcy held two fingers at the newts throat and after a moment let out a sigh of relief, "Oh thank frog, she's still alive." She retrieved a crowbar from the wagon to pry open the armor with. As she did, Yunan visibly started to breathe. Marcy uncorked that flask of red liquid and fed Yunan some of the mixture. Yunan's features curled at the taste but relaxed into a more restful unconsciousness. 

The old frog came walking up, rubbing at his back and looking haggard. 

Marcy looked up, "you alright Hop Pop?"

"Thanks to you, though you did toss me like a potato sack." He said in a light jabbing tone to which Marcy smiled apologetically. 

Marcy's little pink frog friend came hopping up to her, glancing nervously at Sasha, "did we do alright with the ropes?"

Marcy looked over the rope knots and Sasha followed her gaze. They were done a dozen times over as if to make sure it wouldn't come undone. 

Marcy smiled appreciatively at the little frog, pulling him in for a half hug with her unbloody hand. "You did great." Marcy complimented. "Sorry if I was a little… intense..."

"It's okay, it was a stressful situation." Sprig said, looking a little less nervous. He then looked over to Sasha with concern. "Is she okay now?"

"What did you use on her, Marcy?" Anne asked, voice much more sober. 

Only Sasha’s sluggish gaze shifting to Marcy betrayed her interest. 

Marcy looked up at Sasha, a sad look in her eyes, "... you remember those mushrooms? The mind control ones?" Anne nodded slowly. "Maddie and I have been experimenting with that jar of spores. Refining them into that powder. It gives the same level of control without those troublesome side effects. Its effect should fade in a couple of hours." Marcy said answering Sasha as much as Anne. 

Sasha felt a boiling anger in her bones, what was wrong with these two. Why couldn't they just let her help them? She had connections in Newtopia. Everything they needed to find a way home. Why were they throwing that all away for some slimy frogs? 

Sasha wanted to grind her teeth in anger, fury, but could feel no response in her face. 

"Why did you make it?" Anne asked, concerned.

"Ever since Toad Tower I've been looking into non-lethal ways to defend myself..." Marcy said with a shrug. “This one’s a last resort…” She glanced at their positioning, all one wrong step from tipping over into the canyon. "Sasha, help me pull Yunan from the edge of the cliff."

Sasha did so, whether she wanted to or not. They moved Yunan close to the mountainside to rest. 

"You can sit down..." Sasha obliged, getting down on her knees Marcy then spoke as if remembering a list, "defend yourself from anything that tries to hurt you or Yunan.” walking over to pick up Sasha's spear. “Run if you think you cannot win." Marcy set the spear next to Sasha, "Do not accept any orders after this one." she paused, crouched down in front of Sasha. "I... I am sorry Sasha... They’re family. Please be safe.” She brought up her arms briefly as if to hug her, but ultimately decided against it, getting back up. "We've got to go, everyone. Yunan might have been the fastest to get up here, but the rest of their army won't be that far behind..." Marcy turned and went over to Anne, again acting as her crutch. As Marcy started to move them towards the wagon door, Anne paused looking over at Sasha. 

Sasha met her gaze, the full weight of what was happening starting to settle on her. She stared at Anne, trying desperately to communicate. Begging her to stay there, Sasha was just trying to help. 

For a moment it looked like Anne heard her, her hand reaching up as if to offer Sasha another chance. Just like she always did. Ever kind and giving Anne. Then Anne almost doubled over in pain, only kept up by Marcy’s support, hand clutching the place where Sasha had struck her. She makes brief eye contact with Sasha again before looking down and away. Following Marcy into the wagon. The frogs all piled either inside the wagon or into the driving seat 

‘This isn't happening.‘

The old frog coaxed out the snail, calming them with a bag of mushrooms.

‘I searched through this world for you two for Months! And this is the thanks I get!?’

Sprig went about gathering up trinkets that had been flung off the roof when they had crashed

‘Get back here! Don’t you dare leave me here!’

Marcy came back out for the little Pollywog, gathering her up in her arms and congratulating her for a job well done. 

'Come back.'

Marcy paused in the doorway of the wagon, looking at Sasha with regret until a call from Hop Pop alerted her to find a place to sit. 

'Please, don't leave without me... '

As the rickety wagon started to roll away, and pass beyond sight the rushing wind robbing even the retreating sound of the wagon; Sasha finally felt her body reflect how she was feeling. Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, dripping down onto her armor.

---

The dense fog wrapped around the little clearing they had found on the other side of the mountain pass. It was late into the night, but Marcy felt no great desire to sleep, despite a weariness that gripped her bones. Marcy had taken a chance to inspect Anne's abdomen while they traveled. Sasha had done a number on it, but fortunately it looked like a bruised rib rather than a broken one, which was a relief. 

She had brought Anne outside to sit on a stump while the Plantars started to unpack the many things that they had thrown into the fwagon with abandon. Polly sat on top of the fwagon, throwing things down to Sprig who in turn tossed them into Hop Pop who stood in the door.

Anne was holding onto Marcy's left hand, brushing a thumb over the knot of fresh scar tissue that had formed around the stab wound. Marcy looked at her girlfriend concerned, she hadn't said much since they had left the mountain pass. just simple answers to Marcy's inquiries about her comfort and pain level. Anne had a deep contemplative expression, fixated on Marcy's new scar. "What're you thinking about?"

"...I shouldn't have let you fight Yunan alone..." Anne answered after a moment.  

Marcy smiled, shaking her head, "Anne, I got stabbed protecting Hop Pop, unless you were planning to get stabbed in my place, I don't think there was much to be done." Marcy assured, looking down at her hand, she was lucky the damage wasn't worse. The plan Ram and her had cooked up had allowed for the possibility of much worse damage. It was fortunate since using her damaged hand to hold up Yunan was much better for selling 'accidently' dropping her off the cliff. "Honestly, I'm glad you were the one to fight Sasha... I don't think I could have..." Marcy admitted with an appreciative smile. 

Anne nodded, returning the smile, but only just, quickly returning to deep thought. 

"But that's not everything is it?" Marcy pondered, and paused to give Anne time to answer. When she didn't, Marcy probed quietly, "is it about Toad Tower?" 

Anne shook her head, "No... that..." she paused before looking up to Marcy. "That was a lot… but you were desperate right? Felt like you didn't have a choice?" Anne asked and Marcy nodded. "why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I... don't really like thinking about it..." Marcy said quietly, "I probably would have, eventually..." Marcy said, unsure of the truth of that. Anne nodded, and went back to caressing Marcy's hand, still looking upset. "If it isn't that, what's wrong?"

"... It's nothing important" Anne took a breath, letting go of Marcy's hand, but Marcy quickly recaptured one of them, holding them between of her own

"Is it upsetting you?" Marcy asked, and after a reluctant pause Anne nodded. Marcy gave a reassuring smile. "Then it's important to me..." They had talked her through so many things since they came here, what was one more? 

Anne smiled briefly before gathering up her will and looked up at Marcy. "Marcy... What did you mean when you told Sasha 'it wasn't supposed to be like this'? What wasn't?" Anne was filled with distrust, but her eyes held a fragile hope. Hope that there was an innocent explanation to her question.

Marcy opened her mouth to lie. To say she was referring to their reunion, and how she never wanted to fight Sasha. But… that wasn’t the truth. She couldn’t keep lying to Anne. This whole situation was Marcy’s fault

Getting her friends stuck in this world. Anne getting stabbed and a near broken rib. Anne and her fighting Sasha... 

Guilt strangled any lie that she might have used.

Anne held eye contact, that benefit of doubt slowly ebbing away into something more stern. She slowly pulled her hand away from Marcy's grasp, using it to make a spell gesture, "Marcy. Why the music box?" with a flick of her wrist her eyes turned a steely blue. "out of everything in that thrift store... why that music box?" Hop Pop and Sprig paused in their work as Anne’s voice rose, the tone of the conversation shifted.

Marcy didn't answer right away, knowing that once she started there would be nothing left than to go on through to the end. Anne took slightly hitched breaths, anger simmering underneath. An increasingly hostile silence passed between them.

Before Marcy could gather herself Sprig jumped next to them, looking a little nervous and pulling Anne’s attention , "I'm sure she has a great reason! Marcy always has a reason for things! Maybe it was part of some big surprise she had planned!" Sprig spoke fast, clearly wanting to defend Marcy, "or- or maybe it was for some gadget, like one part of a gift or-" he paused as Marcy put a hand on his shoulder and Sprig turned to face her. 

Marcy put on a genuine but pained smile. She appreciated Sprig's faith in her, as misplaced as it was here. She slowly shook her head, eyes pleading for him to stop. 

Sprig’s mouth hung open, conflicted. Hop Pop stepped forward, putting an arm around his grandson's shoulders, "come on Sprig, let's give these two some privacy." Sprig looked  back at Marcy as he was led away, worry clear on his face. Hop Pop silently beckoned down Polly and caught the pollywog as she jumped down from the roof of the fwagon.

Once the door of the wagon shut, Marcy turned back to Anne and felt a patient but simmering anger. Marcy stood up, no longer feeling like she deserved to sit so intimately next to Anne. She walked a few steps away before turning back to look at her. "Can I start at the beginning?"

Anne let out a breath and a shrug making a helpless gesture for Marcy to continue.

"Back on your birthday… before we all met up, my parents told me we were moving out of state." Anne was surprised by that, and at least a little upset at the news, which was nice. Marcy fished out her phone from her pocket, "They said it was going to be at the end of the month, or I guess a few months ago at this point," Marcy explained and then paused a curious look coming to her face, "though maybe still a month? In a lot of stories with this scenario, time stops in the original world for the duration of the adventure, and-"

"Marcy."

"Right, sorry." Marcy shook off the thought, focusing back in. "Anyways, I got... really upset and ran from the house. Just ran as far as my legs could take me," she looked down at her phone navigating through her photo album back to that day. "I ran out of breath outside of that thrift store, which was when I looked in and saw the box." She selected the photo he had sent to Sasha and showed it to Anne, "I thought, ‘wow, what a coincidence!’” She used her thumb to flip back a photo to the illustration of the music box she took from that mysterious book. “I just read about this today’!" Anne took the phone, squinting in on the text Marcy knew would be damning. 

"Travel to…” Anne's voice was somehow incredulous and completely unsurprised. ”You knew?" 

“I… didn’t think it would work?” she offered weakly, “but I don’t think that counts for much cause I really hoped it would…”

"Marcy."

"I know."

"Marcy!?" 

"I know!" 

"Marcy, how could you!?" She stood up to be on the same level, but was cut off as her face contorted in pain, dropping Marcy's cellphone and clutching her side, sitting back down. 

Marcy stepped forward, fretting, "Anne are you alrigh-" 

Anne smacked Marcy's hands away, staring daggers at her now. "Marcy. I've been missing my life! What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't!" Marcy admitted, “I was just… desperate”

"My Family! Your Family- "

Marcy felt a bitter little seed she had left in a corner of her heart stir, speaking out despite herself, "-is here."

Anne paused, sputtering for a moment, at first in shock at Marcy defending herself, then again realizing that it hadn't come up as a lie. Anne's eyes glanced over to the fwagon, then closing her eyes, "Marcy, the Plantars are... fine, but I'm talking about your real family-"

"I'm not-" Marcy interrupted as that seed sprouted a vine up her throat, "just talking about the Plantars." Marcy said, voice getting emotional. Anne paused "You and Sasha? Were the only people who cared about me in that world." She let out a breath, frustrated at herself. 

Anne suddenly looked confused, "but your parents..."

"Didn't want me..." Marcy said with a huff of repressed pain. "My Dad treated me like I was a burden, and my Mom's favorite quality about me was that I can act like I wasn't one." Marcy spoke words she had held in her chest for years now. 

Anne suddenly looked unsure, her anger adrift in this revelation. Still there, still lurking, but for the moment lost. "But..." Marcy braced herself, hoping that Anne wouldn't say what she said next, "they're your parents, they have to love-" Anne flinched at what surely was a shift in Marcy's aura.

Marcy's hands clenched shut along with her eyes, feeling an anger flash hot across her skin, that twisting stem in her throat blossoming into white hot anger. But she didn't let it out, Anne didn't know any better, didn't know how much those words hurt coming from her. The one person she always hoped would understand. But Anne was under no obligation to understand, to be kind to Marcy. Marcy had ruined her birthday, her year, and very possibly her life. So she held it in. Held it as long as possible until her head felt like it would pop, then let out a coughing wheezing breath, expelling all her anger into the cool night air, tears carrying out what her lungs couldn't. She looked back to a now concerned Anne and Marcy hated it. That Anne had it in her to still... care after finding out what Marcy had done to her. She didn’t deserve that.  "My parents... weren't like yours Anne..." she finally managed to get out. 

Anne was frowning, brow furrowed, "why didn't you tell us, me or Sasha? We could have helped..."

Why was Anne focusing on her? "How? They didn't abuse me. They didn't hit me or yell at me, they just didn't like me." Marcy said with a shrug. "What, was I supposed to go up to you, to Sasha and say 'hey guys, my parents don't do anything to me.'" Marcy huffed out a mirthless laugh, "'help, help, my parents leave me a-'" she intended to say the phrase jokingly, but her throat closed up on the last word, lip quivering. After swallowing down the lump in her throat she finished with a choked up, "alone"

Anne looked unsure and worried, but she still had a grit to her expression, and Marcy knew why. She didn't expect this much sympathy after what she had done had come to light. 

"You and Sash were the closest thing I had to family before we came here... but I know it wasn't the same for you. That I was just a friend... you had loving parents and I took you away from them." Marcy took a hesitant step closer, getting down on one knee so she wouldn't be looming over Anne. "Anne, I know I screwed up. I'm going to make it right." She reached out to take one of Anne's hands between her own, "I promise I'll find a way back to Earth. I did this to you and Sasha and I fully intend to make it right." Marcy kept eye contact even though she knew Anne could see her sincerity at that moment. 

Anne looked down at Marcy in thought, then glanced up to the fwagon. "but... you're not planning on coming back with us. Are you?"

Marcy swallowed, taking in a slow breath and then letting out a sigh, "If we're going to end up being separated either way..."

Anne's eyes became unreadable as they faded back to dark brown, looking away from Marcy, "can I have a little time alone?"

Marcy hesitated for a moment trying to read Anne's expression but couldn't manage it. Her brain was fried. It was closer to morning than it was to sundown at this point. She wanted to keep talking, to be a comfort for Anne, but that wasn't really her decision to make at this point. She let go of Anne's hand standing back up, "Sure..." She took a step back before awkwardly crouching down to retrieve her phone. She took two backwards steps, almost tripping over herself before turning around and walking back to the fwagon, opening the door, and closing it behind her. 

The Planters were waiting for her with worried expressions. She intended to find somewhere proper to sit on, like the booth or the bed, but her legs felt like they were going to give out on her and opted for the stairs that were right next to the door. Polly hopped up onto Marcy's lap and Marcy quickly cradled the little pollywog appreciatively. Sprig took up a stair to Marcy's right while Hop Pop jumped up to a stair behind Marcy. All of them looked at Marcy like she was a kicked puppy which wasn't a sympathy she deserved. 

Hop Pop patted at her back, "It'll be alright kiddo... I'm sure she'll come around."

"Will she?" Marcy said, craning her neck back. "It's like you said, how could you forgive someone who took family from you?" she asked, with a weak smile.

"Marcy?" Sprig voiced, pulling his older sister's attention. His voice was concerned, "Were your parents really like that?" 

Marcy's weak smile broke. She didn't answer, instead hunching over and pulling Polly closer to her. Sprig latched himself onto her arm hugging as tight as his little frog arms could allow, Hop Pop started to rub soothing circles into her back, and Polly gripped onto her forearm with her little flippers. 

Marcy indulged in their comfort taking slow halting breaths. Everything hurt… but at least here she had a family to help her through it.

---

Anne sat in the middle of the clearing, alone with her thoughts. Marcy's pained expression as she talked about her home life ran through her head. Anne wanted to be able to help and comfort her through it, but... she felt a bitterness she couldn't keep down. Her fingers grazed over the scar tissue by her side, a knot of twisted flesh that would stay with her long after she returned to Earth. Return without Marcy

Earth. Her life. Waking up to domino purring on her chest. Listening to her Mom's terrible singing as she hopped downstairs for a quick breakfast. Going to morning practice for the tennis team feeling the rush of competition before school. Chatting with her desk neighbors, gossiping with Sasha and… Going to Thai Go twice a week to help out, joking with her Dad in the back as she helped her Mom deal with customers in the front. Having a family dinner all together after the restaurant closed for the night. The three of them laughing about a customer who refused to admit to his date that he ordered his food too hot. Grousing about some self absorbed customer demanding a free meal after finishing the entire dish. 

As Anne thought about her parents, a pit formed in her stomach. Her parents always shut the restaurant down early on her birthday. With balloons, streamers, and her favorite foods and snacks. Anne wondered at what point in the night their annoyance at her absence turned into worry. What they must have thought when the morning came and there was no sign of any of them.  

Three months, they'd been missing for over three months. Marcy had known the whole time. Anne had trusted her. 

Anne's hand unconsciously reached up and started to fiddle with the glow stone necklace pendant, her thumb brushing over the crack Sasha had left when she had knocked Anne on her back. After a moment however she became conscious of it and looked down at the little trinket. All of the pain and homesickness she had felt boiled into anger as she grabbed hold of the pendant and ripped it from her neck, breaking the little clasp on the back. 

She let the pendant fall through her fingers, catching it by the leather cord as she clenched her teeth. She lifted up the bauble, intending to swing it down into the stump, to finish what Sasha had started. 

Anne held Marcy as the girl futilely wiped tears away, excitement and relief in her expression. "I'm just so happy you’re here," Marcy smiled brightly, the soft light of the bazaar lanterns shining off of her pretty brown eyes.

Anne hesitated, hand starting to shake just a little,

Marcy smirked at Anne, both of them soaked to the bone after their trip down river. Marcy's cute face, blemished by a burn, having taken the brunt of an electric discharge to save Anne’s life. "I've grown a lot out here Anne. We can look out for each other now."

Anne lowered the pendant just slightly, looking into the soft glow of the crystal.

Marcy looked at Anne with exhausted eyes but utterly focused on comforting her, "Anne, I think you could do anything you set your mind to... you just gotta actually set your mind to it. Which is great cause once you do your way too stubborn to stop..." then clenching her eyes shot, instantly regretting the phrasing, though not the sentiment.

Anne lip quivered as she tried to hold onto that anger.

"but... if you were flirting with me then... that would mean..." Anne smiled watching as the smartest person she knew struggled to put two and two together. "Does that mean...?" A hopeful quirk to her expression was all the invitation Anne needed to lean in…

Tears dripped and dropped onto Anne's dress

Anne looked at Marcy through blurred tear filled eyes. A moment ago she had felt alone, abandoned. But now Marcy held onto her, comforting her and assuring her that the blame lay with her as much as Anne. A pained sad smile came to her face as she spoke, "I've been a bad friend to you, Anne."

Anne pressed the cracked pendant against her forehead whispering out, "damnit Marcy..."

The angry pit in Anne's heart started to fade. As she thought of Marcy's passionate rambling. Faded as she thought of their hikes in search of spice substitutes so Anne could taste a bit of home. Dull as she remembered in her heart Marcy's flustered giggles and hesitant tender touches. Dull into an ache that throbbed with each tear and quiet sob.

A few minutes passed, Anne's breath still shuddered as she tried to calm herself down. Trying to work up the strength to go back into the wagon. To figure out... what came next. 

As she prepared to shuffle back to the wagon, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, a figure in the mist. Anne opened her mouth to raise the alarm but hesitated. It was a hooded silhouette, lean, and relaxed. A staff grasped in one hand with its opposite arm missing. A long tail, bizarrely gloved, waved to her in greeting through the mist. As Anne watched, a small bird bug landed onto the figure's shoulder, perching there comfortably.  

Anne paused, the cool wet air filling her lungs, taking in one breath and then another. She looked back to the wagon, her eyes trained on the door before drifting up. Her pink backpack still left on the roof. Anne made a spell gesture and brought it down to her. She slipped her arm through the strap and, with a grunt of pain, Anne stood up from the stump. One hand nursed her rib while the other gripped right to her necklace. Anne became encircled by mist as the figure turned to walk away with her. 

"Vell acolyte. How vas visiting your friends?" the figure asked, as if no time had passed. 

"It was... eye opening…" Anne said as they walked, "figured out I liked girls."

"Feh," the figure responded, unimpressed, "I could have told you that."

"What, no way!" Anne objected, the two bantering back and forth as the mist swallowed them whole. 

---

Marcy was 13 now, and her world was falling apart. 

"Boston's really nice, lots of universities around. Lots of history there." Her mother promised.

Marcy had been silent up to this point but finally spoke up, "But... What about my friends? Will I get to visit?"

Her father rolled his eyes, sighing, "we're not spending half a grand sending you out here to visit two friends." 

Her mother tried to soften the words, "You can talk to them online, on one of those… gaming apps?" that Anne and Sasha never use. "And you'll make new friends." 

"Better friends," her father muttered.

"Mark..." Her mother frowned up at him. 

Marcy scowled at him, feeling an anger bubbling up. Repressed for god knows how long. She grabbed her shoulder bag, stalked towards the front door tears pooling in her eyes. 

Her father stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder, Marcy half turned to face him. His brow was wrinkled and he was pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. Like all of this was such an inconvenience for him. "Marcy, you have to understand."

"No!" she retched her shoulder free and ran for the door. "You guys are ruining my life!"

So Marcy ran, as fast and as hard as she could. With no particular direction in mind. She passed by street after street, people, signs and crosswalks a blur through tears. Her throat burned as she sobbed and felt out of breath. She kept going until she couldn't breathe anymore, stopping outside some kind of thrift store. She leaned against the glass trying to catch her breath

It wasn't fair. One minute she was packing up her things for Anne's sleepover and now she might never see her or Sasha again. 

But what choice did she have? Where else could she go? It wasn’t fair!

She looked up and spotted something familiar on top of a dresser within the thrift store. It was a small music box with strange swamp and frog iconography. Three gems were embedded in its top. “That’s weird… is that?” Marcy pulled out her phone and flipped to the most recent picture. The box matched the picture from that goofy book. Her eyes fixated on the note in big bold whimsical font, 'travel to other worlds.' Then another message popped up, Sasha asking where she was.

...

If she was going to move, it would be on her terms, with the people she cared about.

She started to type back a message, attaching a picture of the calamity box to the center. 

It might be strange at first, but what was important was keeping the three of them together...

No matter what.

---

END OF PART 1

Notes:

Thank you once again Cutetanuki-Chan for their beautiful art,  [ Twitter | Tumblr ]

Well. That's it for Part 1. Thanks for reading everyone. Part 2: An Alchemist Abroad will begin in a few weeks. Still got some outlining to do. 

I have a lot of thoughts, but Ill try to be short

---

Anne

I know that Anne's departure here might feel like a surprise. But I would ask you to remember Day at the Aquarium where Anne was inconsolable over the idea of leaving the Plantars. Then two episodes later in After the Rain, when after discovering Hop Pop's betrayal just straight up bails, not even leaving a note for Sprig or Polly. Anne did a lot of growing up, but that lesson about forgiveness still has to be learned, and for better or worse, she's learning it with Marcy this time.

---

Sasha & Grime & Yunan

So I saw some comments worrying about how no development Sasha was going to, but while its in the background this season, Sasha already had a pretty major shift from canon. While I love Canon!Sasha and Grime's dynamic, they 1000% made each other worse before they made each other better. Sasha giving Grime the skills for manipulation bring his cruelty to a new scale, and Grime giving Sasha the authority and permission to indulge in her worst instincts. 

On a surface level Yunan and Grime may look similar. Violent ruthless dogs serving a corrupt state. However I think there are 2 key differences. First where I see Grime as a cynic who understands the cruelty of the state and uses it to his own ends, I think Yunan is a believer who thinks she is doing the right thing. Second is I think Yunan has standards where Grime does not. While she will stop at nothing to dispatch her targets, I can't see her harming innocents to do so. After all, in Toadcatcher, she doesn't hurt Percy or Braddock despite knowing their connection to Grime, she just spies on them to get the info she needs. I think as a mentor she would hold Sasha to those same standards, fostering her pride and ego through service to others rather than indulging her power hungry nature.

Notably, that hasn't over written all her priorities. She's still controlling, and refuses to compromise when she feels she's right, and will still lie and kill to accomplish those things, but you know, progress. 

On a related note, writing Sasha was such a blast. What a great character. I hope those who were worried about her being sidelined or flanderized in the AU are put at ease. 

---

Feedback

Thank you to everyone who left comments week after week here on AO3. Seeing both new readers and regulars leaving comments was always a highlight of my week 

Another thank you spread word of the fic on your own initiative. Stumbling across my fic being recommended in the wild was wild. 

Thank you to the person/people who maintained the TV Tropes page. Loved seeing it grow to its current length over the course of the fic. 

Thanks too to the quiet readers who come back week after week to read the story. 

I hope many of you will join me on the next leg of the journey in a few weeks. I'll probably leave one last update here to let everyone know when it starts.

---

Final Thoughts

hoooo... almost 200,000 words in six months. It's been a trip. Thank you to everyone who came along this journey with me. I hope you continue to enjoy the story to come. For my part, after that chapter I am ready for some more light hearted adventures traveling across Amphibia. 

Chapter 22: [Part 2]

Summary:

Part 2 is out now!

Notes:

Hey, go ahead and hit that "Next Work" button below to move on to An Alchemist Abroad.

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on the finale! It was wild but also made all the work I spent on it worth it. Sorry if I did not get around to answering your comment at some point it felt like walking aginst the tide

If you would like to continue to follow this series please subscribe or bookmark An Alchemist Abroad, this will be the last update on this fic.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of The Arcanist Marcy Wu [Swap AU]